Inside
by Aspect
Summary: "Oh god she panicked, swiftly reaching a hand out and confirming her worst fear; she felt the silk lining of what could only be a coffin… a coffin that she was now buried in" Set sometime in S2 D/E - COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Just something that was floating around in my head for a while so I had to write it down. Takes place sometime in Season 2, everything that happened in season 1 has happened within the context of this story too.**

**I don't own the Vampire Diaries but you already knew that D:**

When Elena awoke she could see nothing. The air was warm, stuffy, her heart drummed loudly in her ears igniting a throbbing pain somewhere in the vicinity of her left temple, the last thing she remembered before the darkness was _her_ face, the ancient carbon copy of herself standing beside her equally ancient and maniacal mother in the cemetery… _Oh god _she panicked, swiftly reaching a hand out and confirming her worst fear - she felt the silk lining of what could only be a coffin… a coffin that she was now buried in.

She stifled a horrified sob, her heart rate tripling as she frantically tried to latch onto any sense of hope in the situation_, anything!_ She shifted trying to determine which way was up in her disorientated state, and then she noticed that it was too cramped; that there was _something_ next to her. Elena froze. For one horrifying moment she thought… she thought they'd put her in _there_, in her _real_ mother's grave, with her_ body_, before she forced that thought out of her mind. Grimly it didn't smell bad enough to be true, the coffin was too fresh she didn't know how she knew but she could just tell.

Instead she extended a shaking hand in the general vicinity of where she thought her "company" was, meeting something firm, something covered in leather and expensive cotton.

"Damon?" she whispered her voice sounding foreign to her own ears, she hadn't meant to sound so desperate, she hadn't meant to convey the huge sense of relief she felt knowing that he was at least here with her; didn't register in her mind that she was now buried underground with a vampire, a vampire that was Damon and not Stefan.

The panic began to rise again when she realised that he hadn't responded, there was something wrong, she could feel it her bones. Slowly she drew her hands over his body, looking for something, anything that might explain why he wasn't responding.

Her hands traced smooth planes of muscle that was encased in a tight form-fitting shirt before they hit a belt buckle; she was going the wrong way. She retraced her previous actions patting down his arms before the palm of her right hand snagged on something cold to the touch; something that was protruding from his chest where she feared his dead heart was no longer beating and she was floored by the immense amount of pain she felt at the realisation that Damon was hurt. That he was… that he could be…

"Damon!... Damon, please!" she sobbed outright, hands shaking severely, eyes searching wildly as if willing the light to come and reveal the tinge of his skin to her desperate eyes would actually work.

Her hands were clasping roughly at the worn material of his jacket, she was shaking him, violently, shouting, pleading for him to respond. Her hands cupped his face; sticky with congealed blood as she slapped his cheeks roughly, tried to _feel_ for those veins, they came out when they were _dead_ right?

The minutes were agonizing until she felt the barest wisp of breath cool the rapidly drying blood on her hands; she froze beginning her mantra with renewed enthusiasm.

"Please Damon!"…"WAKE UP" and "I need you" …

"Please you can't die…" before she heard what may possibly have been the sweetest sound of her young life to date.

"Ow"

She half sobbed, half laughed with a relief that shook her to the core, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins as she muttered "Thank God!" over and over. A new mantra.

"Vervain… on the stake Elena" he mumbled painfully before she forced herself back to reality, she nodded her understanding knowing that his keen eyesight would allow him to see her through the seemingly impenetrable darkness. Her hands fumbled until they found the offending piece of wood and she took a breath steeling herself for what she was about to do, He groaned in pain.

"Careful - it's close" he instructed, watching as the tears continuously poured from her swollen red-rimmed eyes. He'd be lying if he said it didn't tug at some long forgotten part of him, the time for dwelling on emotional baggage ended abruptly though as he tried not to scream as she ripped the wooden stake from his chest, the vervain already causing the blood to boil in his veins, causing the bloodlust to rage ever stronger in his system as his over sensitive hearing rejoiced at the sound of her wildly beating heart, at the smell of the pure terror emanating from her. He closed his eyes shut in order to gain control but he was fighting a losing battle.

He was too quiet she realised, this wasn't him, he always spoke, always had stupid smart-ass remarks but now; now he was silent. Elena wondered for one horrified second if she had just killed him but his rapid erratic breathing put that thought to rest.

"Are you… Are you going to be ok?" she stuttered, uncharted territory. It seemed that in the space of what could only have been a few minutes the idea of Damon dying had scared her more than _anything._ More than Stefan giving into his bloodlust, more than Katherine violating her house and killing her father… it was as if the very air had been stolen from her lungs and her gullet crushed.

And somehow she _knew._ Knew exactly what this meant. Tentatively she held out her wrist in the general direction of where she thought his face would be, hoping that he understood what she was telling him.

"Please Damon… You can't… If you need to…" she mumbled unable to complete the sentence, what was she doing? Was this really a good idea? After all the last time she had allowed a Vampire to feed from her in order to save them it had proved catastrophic.

"No" was the simple response she received. She had never expected that, least of all from _him. _Hadn't he always sought to remind her of how fragile her continued existence really was? How many a time her life had been spared purely thanks to his good graces? Somehow it ignited a burning and intense wave of rage within her. How dare he suddenly develop a conscience; not when he was _dying!_ Not when she _needed_ him!

"Don't! Don't do this now; don't pretend that there's some moral implication stopping you from drinking my blood Damon, not now! Not when our lives depend on it!" she spat angrily.

He had to admit that threw him, if he'd been in any form of shape he would have smirked his trademark smirk and admired the fire in her words, but as it was although he hated to admit it, she was right. If not to spare his own life then he would do it for _her_… always for her.

He took her wrist gently and guided it to his lips, his fangs already ready and waiting, felt the tell tale rush of excitement consume him, felt the veins erupting around his now darkened gaze and sunk his teeth into the tender flesh. He felt her stiffen, another time he could have made this easier for her but not right now; right now he needed to feed to survive and he didn't have the strength to fight his body's natural instincts.

The seconds passed by agonizingly slowly as Elena felt her blood being drawn from her body, she tried to concentrate on something else, on coming up with a plan to get them both out of there, but the burning pain proved too much, she felt the sting of fresh tears in her eyes and willed them not to fall, for both of their sakes.

Since that fateful night when Katherine had returned, when he'd opened up his heart after 145 _years_ he had changed. It was almost imperceptible, in fact it was. To everyone but _her _because she was the only one who cared enough to notice that his mask was stronger than ever, that he drank more than ever, that the remarks cut deeper, that he was even _colder_ now if it were possible. And she knew that if he realised how much he was hurting her it would only add to the half a tonne weight of baggage that he already internally bore the brunt of.

He broke away suddenly thrusting her arm back towards her. To safety he'd already had too much, he felt her slump down next to him in the little space that they each had. He felt the skin on his chest beginning to heal, felt himself become more alert as she slipped into the darkness. She'd wake up soon enough.

Damon used the time to examine their surroundings. The coffin was larger than a standard one and it chilled even _him_ when he dully realised that it had been made to measure. It was a perfect fit for the both of them, and any misguided notions of love that he once held for Katherine that may still have lingered somewhere deep inside of him died suddenly in that moment.

He didn't need to reach up to touch the silk clad lid of the coffin just 30cm from his face to realise that it was coated in vervain. _Very smart _he thought bitterly. Punching his way out of here wasn't going to be an option.

He reached down to pat his pockets, knowing before he even checked that both of their phones would be missing, but he should at least confirm that thought right? He cursed when he came up empty. He wouldn't be getting out of here any time soon. He might be ok for eternity, driven mad by hunger yes, but he didn't _need_ to breathe. Elena on the other hand...

"You fucking bitch!" he exclaimed angrily, his sense of calm escaping him an uncontrollable anger taking over instead. How the fuck did he let this happen? She was older than him but he'd be lying if he said that she was smarter than him too. Twice she had bested him at his own game, she'd used Elena and let himself fall right into her trap willingly, like a lost puppy looking for its mother all because of his misguided feelings for her Human doppelganger. He'd thought he was past this! Past feeling that one stupid weak emotion that brought even the greatest to their knees!

Damon had avoided Elena for months, only spoken to her when necessary only acknowledged her when she forced her company upon him. He couldn't leave Mystic Falls entirely because he knew that Stefan wasn't strong enough to protect her on his own, and pathetically the idea of harm coming to Elena was worse than being tortured with her presence everyday. Worse than being reminded of what a stupid and weak individual he was. Than being reminded that everything that mattered to him in the world once again belonged to his insufferably perfect brother.

Hours ticked by before Elena regained consciousness, her head was pounding and she felt weak as a kitten but she was still alive so she guessed that was something.

"Damon?" she whispered into the darkness, there was a stretch of silence in which she thought she could almost feel him deciding whether to respond or not. Finally he spoke.

"I'm here" was all he said. It spoke volumes and suddenly the last few months of torturous silence weighed down on her shaking shoulders all at once. All of the guilt all of the hurt and anger that he no longer wanted anything to do with her. She cried then. Big heaving sobs, they were going to talk about this, right now, now that he couldn't run from her.

"Why?" …

"What did I do wrong?" she cried. He wished he could turn off his hearing as well as his emotions, the sound of it was just gut wrenching and it was preventing him from flipping that switch, the switch that had well and truly been his only _true_ friend throughout his long and miserable life.

"It's easier this way" he answered quietly, completely uncomfortable with the situation. He wouldn't lie to her, what would be the point? She'd be dead if they didn't get out of here in a few hours, even if he did turn her. She had to have _Human_ blood to complete the transition - she'd be dead either way. He supposed he at least owed her the truth.

"Only for you!" she accused. He smirked then and couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips.

"If that's what you think"

God. She wanted to scream.

"Then WHY Damon!" she all but shrieked. He winced at the decibel level that her voice had taken on. She was after all pressed tightly to his left side, her mouth only inches from his ear although he doubted she knew quite how close they were.

"Lower your voice, there's no need to get hysterical" he quipped coldly. He wished he hadn't chosen that moment to cast a glance at her expression, the amount of confusion and hurt he saw in her eyes caused something… was this what his heart used to feel like when it ached? All those years ago… he sighed tiredly and continued.

"What exactly do you _want_ from me Elena? You're with Stefan you've made that _very_ clear. You_ love_ Stefan, he's _better_ than I am, he isn't a _self-serving sociopath with no redeeming qualities_… We might have an understanding Elena, but we are_ not_ friends, we are not _anything _Elena, so _what_ do you want?"

He watched as her mouth made fish like motions as she struggled to come up with an answer, he laughed coldly hate seeping through every pore in his body.

"That's what I thought"

She was thankful that she couldn't see, for she was sure the hardness of his glacial gaze would have frozen her solid in that moment, her crying had at least dulled into silent tears. He watched as another fell, making it's way down her tragically beautiful face. And then she spoke one of the deepest truths she had ever admitted to anyone but her diary.

"I just want you to let me in" she whispered, barely loud enough for even his keen hearing to pick up. He furrowed his perfectly shaped eyebrows.

"What?"

"I want to know you Damon. I just want to know you" she repeated and somehow through the darkness she knew that she was looking straight into those heartbreakingly beautiful eyes.

"Why?" he asked before he could stop himself. Before he could stop himself from opening up, even in the slightest. He cursed his stupidity because he was aware that he had just shown Elena the metaphorical door; the door to his complexity which was always kept hidden beneath a maze of deadly thorns.

"Because I know you're there! I know you're more than this… indifference you project. I know there is more to you than Katherine and you're hatred of Stefan! You might like to pretend that you don't feel your humanity, but all of this… this coldness and anger! God why don't you see how Human that makes you!" She was speaking passionately, holding the gaze that she couldn't see, her hands had moved of their own accord to grab roughly at the first part of him they came into contact with.

"You don't know _half _of the things that I've done Elena" he spoke dangerously, her words hitting a little too close to the mark for his liking.

"I don't care! It's not what you do, it's _why_ you do it!" she spoke exasperated. He became angry then, _so_ angry. She should be scared of him damn it! When had he failed to notice that he was loosing control? He slammed his hand into the wall of the coffin beside her, it reminded her vividly of the time that Stefan had lost control in his bedroom, when she had dug the vervain needle deep into his back and watched him slump to the floor.

She flinched but reminded herself that she needed to hold her ground. He was _trying_ to scare her, to stop her because what she was saying was getting to him- she was finally getting somewhere.

"I know you won't hurt me, scaring me isn't going to work anymore… I want you to hear me" she spoke calmly, and if he were capable of it, he would have panicked.

"…I can't give you what you want" he finally said. After a long, long stretch of silence, and then she finally did crumble, finally did feel fear because the thought of him continuing to live the way he had been the past few months _did_ scare her.

"I know… and that's what scares me" she choked out, throat closing so tightly on her that she could barely force the words out. Her heart was throbbing with protest in her chest, her arms tingled with the exquisite and unique pain of utter heartbreak and she felt the ghost of his fingers on her cheek.

"I don't need your pity Elena, I don't want it… you forget that I've survived all of these years _alone_, and I'll survive many more, no need to feel sorry for me" he quipped, she just knew that smirk would be gracing his features, the mask in place; could hear the teasing in his tone.

"You'll survive… but you won't be living" she conceded. Finally breaking free of his gaze and dropping her hands to her side, defeated… _again_. His smart-ass remark about already being dead died on his tongue.

_You'll survive… but you won't be living. _He was glad the she couldn't see the way his face had fallen at that comment, the way his eyes had burned with shock and… pain. He swallowed tightly. Unable to form a response.

It was exactly as she had said - Katherine, in a different lifetime when he had still been young and naïve, when he'd thought that threatening to leave her if she didn't chose him exclusively would sway her mind. She'd only laughed easily. _"You wouldn't be able to live without me Damon"_ she had chided, stroking an elegant hand down his face. He'd been stubborn too, even then; told her that he could, that she was wrong and then her features had deadpanned and she'd held his face so strongly between her powerful hands and spoken. _"You'll survive… but you won't be living"_ and had left him standing. Alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! I wasn't expecting to get such a response from this, the amount of alerts, favourites and reviews inspired me to write this up quickly! Thank you all so much, I hope it lives up to your expectations! **

Elena was slowly going mad. She had no idea how long they had laid there in an emotionally charged silence but another minute would simply be too much to bare.

"…Damon?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes, and answered her.

"Yes Elena?" His sarcastic drawl was back; at least that was something right?

"How are we getting out of here?" she hated the way her voice wavered broadcasting her fear. Deep down she knew that if there was a way out, she would already be running into Stefan's welcoming arms and he - he would already be slipping into the shadows, disappearing, out of sight but not out of mind.

"… I don't know. The lid is laced with vervain… and I'm willing to bet it's reinforced with something I can't break, she wouldn't miss a detail like that" he answered, shifting slightly to try and get more comfortable. She nodded, unable to vocalise her acceptance of his statement.

"How much time do I have… before?" _before I die._ She found that she couldn't vocalize that either. God this was so messed up, she had expected torture, a confrontation… not abduction and a premature burial, but the more Elena thought about it, the more it made sense, sick and twisted sense.

Isobel had been right when she'd dropped that particular bombshell. When Elena had handed over the device to the monster she had the misfortune of being related to, when Damon's feelings had been thrown into the mix. He never denied it, and Elena never asked. It remained unspoken between them and until tonight Elena had known nothing of the vulnerability he'd meant to show _her_ that night on the porch.

Not until Katherine had told her, the pure hatred in her face when she'd replayed the conversation to Elena right before Damon had sauntered into the graveyard telling her just how profound it had been and suddenly his actions all started to make sense.

The trade was meant to be simple, Damon was to rejoin Katherine willingly and in return they would leave Mystic Falls together and Elena's life would be spared. It seemed that Katherine had _finally_ made her choice. Stefan was too weak for her now.

Simple - but Elena hadn't thought that Damon would actually come for her, alone having agreed _fully_ to Katherine's terms with no back up in place. He must have known that there was a very strong possibility that neither of them would be making it out of that graveyard alive right?

Why had his need for self-preservation suddenly abandoned him _again_, after months of coldness and solitude. Elena knew the answer to her own question she just didn't know what to make of it and she knew why he simply couldn't risk double crossing Katherine. He _couldn't _let her die.

"12 hours… maybe 15 at the most" he spoke quietly. He heard her swallow the lump in her throat painfully.

"And… how long… how long if you turned me?" she asked. He tensed beside her, the idea bothering him a lot more than it should have.

"A day… maybe two, after you woke up" he finally spoke. She shifted so that she was resting most of her weight on her right side, giving her aching back a respite, she was facing him in the darkness, wondering if he was turned towards her too; if he was even looking at her?

She wished in that moment that she would be able to see his exquisite features one last time and once again she admonished herself for not thinking of his brother, the one that she was supposed to be in love with, the one that would be sick with worry right about now, probably searching frantically for her.

"Someone will find us" she said confidently. She needed hope and that was the strand that she was going to cling too, that she would fight for. They were both missing and someone would come for them. The grave would be freshly dug; it wouldn't be too hard to find.

Elena gasped suddenly.

"What?" Damon asked immediately, unable to hide the concern from flowing through his voice, like a knee jerk reaction. He needed to get himself under control, to get these…_ feelings_ back under lock and key but it was damn near impossible with her pressed up against him, facing towards him, her hot breath mingling with his so sweetly every time she exhaled when each one was detracting from the limited oxygen she had left.

He saw her struggling to move her arm behind her, he frowned unsure of what she was looking for, he'd already established that their phones had been taken.

"YES!" she exclaimed triumphantly when her hands came into contact with the cool metal, she pulled it roughly from her pocket and hit the un-lock button.

A sterile white light flooding the small space between them as her eyes adjusted and burned at the too bright light. She inhaled sharply as his position was revealed to her, his face just inches from hers, nose-to-nose, eye to eye.

She found herself frozen as she looked into those impossibly cerulean orbs. Felt the breath being stolen from her lungs as she found herself unable to look away from them her heart beating widely in her chest.

The screen had been cracked somewhere in the struggle, but it worked, it worked and it gave her light and the time… and music if her headphones hadn't been lost. She supposed Katherine left it because it didn't make calls. That and the fact that she'd be able to see the minutes ticking down on her tragically short life.

She turned the brightness down and the automatic locking off setting the iPod down between them so that it cast a shadowy dim glow that reflected the mood perfectly. She looked down taking in the hole in his shirt; the bloody handprints from her desperate palms on his face and suddenly it all seemed so _real_. Panic began to set in; her heart rate became faster and faster, her breathing ragged until she felt a hand grab her chin tilting it upwards so that she was once again captivated by his gaze.

"Elena… Calm down… Listen to me" he instructed calmly grounding her with his words.

"I… I can't breathe!" she gasped out, "I can't breathe" her eyes were wide as a startled rabbit's caught in the headlights. Her hands were grabbing desperately at the leather of his jacket, trying to convey how much she _couldn't breathe_ right now!

The air was too thick, it was too hot, there was too much going on at once. Too many thoughts, too much fear; now that she could see how little space they were sharing, how trapped she was, that she couldn't get out.

"Yes, you can… Focus on me Elena, just focus on me and breathing, it's ok…" he repeated calmly as the words slowly trickled through the fog and started to make sense - inhale and exhale, slowly, gradually.

Her death grip lost its strength painfully slowly, she was dizzy again, black was threatening the corners of her vision. If she couldn't feel the weight of the vervain that hung around her neck she would be sure that he'd compelled her, his eyes were completely captivating, controlling.

"Good, just breathe" he said, his thumb twitching ever so slightly, wanting to retrace the path it had made over her delicate lips all those months ago; way back when she'd crashed her car, when he'd saved her - _again._

Her head was pounding, body shaking as she backed away from the proverbial ledge that signalled a loss of control, a loss of calm rational thought. Did she really have 12 hours of this left? Did she really want those 12 hours? Wouldn't it be better to just end it all now? She looked at him helplessly silently willing him to come up with a miracle save, even though she knew it was unfair for her to ask such a thing.

He withdrew his hand from her face, immediately missing the warmth of her skin against his fingertips. Elena watched confused as he struggled to shed his jacket in the confined space whilst avoiding hitting the vervain-laced lid with his bare skin. After a few moments of discomfort he managed to remove it, tearing each of the arms off as if he were pulling apart wet tissue paper.

Without sparing her a glance he wrapped each around his hands in a sort of make shift boxing glove, protecting his skin from the vervain that would burn him and then he let lose. Punching repeatedly at the lid, using as much strength as he could muster, channelling the intense rage he felt. He grimaced as he felt the knuckles in his right hand break and dislodge. Placing one last angry punch just for good measure before letting his arms fall back down to his sides. Defeated.

He removed the leather from his hands and threw the shredded garment carelessly down into the vicinity of their feet. Sparing one longing thought because it was after all his favourite jacket and he'd just shredded it for nothing; knowing before he'd even tried that he wouldn't succeed, but if it helped Elena feel that they were _doing _something to try and get out then he'd do it again and again… _for her._ To keep her sane to give her hope even if it was only for one second more.

She was biting her lip. He had been right then. Before when he'd said that Katherine wouldn't be stupid enough to make it easy for them, she found herself thinking of all of the movies she'd seen, where people were trapped. Somehow the knight in shining armour always found a way to bring his damsel in distress to safety at the very last moment.

She laughed slightly then, thinking of the face Damon would make if he knew she'd been comparing him to a hero, holding him to the same standard, the same pedestal.

He frowned at her, looking slightly concerned that she might have already gone crazy as far as he could tell they'd been down there for 2 hours, maybe 3 at the most.

"What's so funny?" he asked, well and truly perplexed. She smiled at him then, a sad smile.

"Nothing…"

And then the silence returned. Hours upon hours of it. At some point the pounding in her head had become too much to bare and she'd slipped into a fitful sleep, he looked on, watching over her silently as he often had… those nights when he'd slipped through her open window and stood like a statue, sometimes even daring to trace the curve of her face with his fingers.

The horrible feeling in his chest growing heavier and heavier with every increasingly laboured breath she took and then the iPod had given up it's life. It was sickly poetic in a sense that the moment the light died her eyes snapped open; this was it. There was no more air and she didn't want to die. She wasn't ready.

With the little strength that she had left she reached for him, his hand meeting hers half way and she clung to it, to _him_, her last remaining lifeline.

"_Please_… I'm not ready… I need more time" she croaked out, a whisper, her voice sounding horrible to her ears. And he was weak for giving into her request so willingly biting the skin of his wrist roughly and bringing it to her awaiting lips. She drank as if she were a survivor in the desert, parched and dry.

Drank and drank and drank until they were both sure she'd had enough, the taste was coppery but there was something else; something uniquely Damon, it was better than the last time, probably because this time she'd been a willing participant in the exchange and then she allowed her eyes to fall closed again, muttering her last words.

"Thank you"

And he was sure that if he hadn't have been dead his heart would have been beating wildly in his chest, because he was actually scared as he listened to her breaths decrease in frequency and depth as her heartbeat slowed… slowed… slowed to the point where he could barely detect it. He threw caution to the wind and he held her to him fiercely then. _So_ scared. If he were capable of it, he may have even shed a tear because he hadn't felt despair this fresh since seeing Katherine with that horrific muzzle covering her face, and that had all been a _lie. _

This, this was something even stronger, this was the one tangible relationship he had forged since then, this was the one person who seemed to actually care about where he was, what he was doing if he was ok and it _affected_ him. No matter how he acted on the outside, it_ did_ on the inside.

And that's when he heard it. The movement of earth above them… surely it couldn't be? He listened harder and this time there was no mistake, he could hear the earth being shovelled it was distant but it was there, his eye's widened in shock and he shook Elena hard, harder than he needed to but she HAD to wake up.

"Elena, ELENA" he demanded, watching as her head lolled from side to side like a rag dolls, it caused the distinct taste of bile to rise in the back of his throat. _Fuck. _He didn't want her to turn like this! He didn't want her already horribly complicated life to become further twisted and un-recognisable from how it had been just one year ago. Not like this! Stefan would kill him, _again _and this time, if this happened he just might _let_ him.

"You're not dead! Wake up Elena!" he told her, latching onto the impossibly weak thread of her heartbeat. Mentally willing it to keep going, just for another 5 minutes; just 5 more minutes…


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow thank you all so much for your awesome reviews! I didn't expect this to be received so well! I can't promise an update on Saturday because I will be busy but definitely Sunday! I hope you enjoy!**

"We need to move faster!" Jeremy spoke desperately blurring his movements, mentally urging them to be digging in the right place; there were 5 of them, five fresh un-marked graves. Katherine hadn't been stupid and Isobel, he couldn't think about that now.

Alaric followed suit, digging as savagely as he humanly could a deep sense of foreboding welling up inside of him. Where the hell was Stefan! They'd called him 5 minutes ago, this was ELENA he should be here helping them.

"I HIT SOMETHING!" Jeremy exclaimed throwing the shovel carelessly behind him and pushing the soil away with his hands.

"Please be the right one, please…" he muttered under his breath over and over, the adrenaline was pumping through his veins as the mahogany surface of a coffin came into view… he motioned for Alaric to join his side to help him open it. They pulled as hard as they could but even with Jeremy's supernatural strength the lid wouldn't budge. Not even an inch.

"AGAIN!" Jeremy instructed, willing some unknown force to posses him that would allow him to break this seal. It was useless.

"WHERE THE HELL IS STEFAN!" he roared, an animalistic growl of pure anger and resentment tearing from his vocal chords.

"I'm here! I had to go and get Bonnie… Katherine, she wouldn't make it that easy!" he exclaimed jumping into the deep pit, beckoning Bonnie towards him holding out his arms to catch her as she jumped into the darkness too. She wasted no time in lighting three candles, using whatever she could find to form a circle and then she began to chant furiously. Summoning her inner strength, summoning the power of her bloodline.

Alaric, Jeremy and Stefan watched on anxious and helpless, praying to a god they didn't believe in that this would work; both Vampires trying to ignore the distinct absence of one of the three heartbeats that they_ should_ have been able to hear. No. That thought was incomprehensible. It simply _could not_ be true.

Something happened then, the wind picked up, the candles flames burned an un natural hue of orangey green and Bonnie's chanting got louder, everything seemed to climax at once there was an un-earthly crack, the candles blew out and they were plunged into darkness again.

"Go! Go it's done!" Bonnie said breathlessly before slumping heavily onto the small space of ground between the coffin and the freshly unearthed side of the grave. They each charged forward effectively ripping the lid from the coffin, both Jeremy and Stefan let out noises of pain as their hands burned from the vervain, but they didn't care.

What they saw made them absolutely _sick._ Damon was clutching Elena desperately, muttering something about, about needing to wake up. His leather jacket in tatters at his feet, dried blood coating most of their clothes, a whole pool of it beneath them and Elena… Bonnie stifled a horrified gasp.

Her skin was ashen, her lips tinted blue. She was… she looked. The moment of horror lasted in reality what was only a second before Damon sprang into action, gathering Elena in his arms and jumping cleanly to the top of the grave, laying her on the ground and immediately setting to work.

He pinched her nose, tilted her chin upwards and lowered his mouth to hers _forcing _the air into her lungs. She had stopped breathing just 30 seconds ago, but he was _sure_ that he could hear the most pathetic of heartbeats; she wasn't dead yet. So technically in his mind, his plan should work. She HAD to wake up, she would now that they were surrounded by fresh, blissfully oxygen rich air. She would…

Somewhere in the distance he heard crying, a female crying. Muttering that they'd been "Too late" he forced those thoughts out of his mind. This would work. Elena wouldn't die, any minute now she was going to open her eyes and hit him for having his mouth anywhere near hers, and then she'd run back into Stefan's arms and he would walk away. Just content that she was alive. Yes. That was the only acceptable outcome.

Stefan stepped closer, both hands over his mouth in disbelief as he sank down to his knees, un able to comprehend as his brother forced her body into responding… it was a grim sight, watching him perform CPR on his girlfriend… and it didn't appear that Damon would stop; in fact he knew that Damon_ wouldn't_ stop unless one of them tried to, unless they forced him. Forced him to accept that Elena was dead. Stefan couldn't bring himself to do it, so instead he watched the scene play out in front of him with absolute horror.

Jeremy stood un-moving his heart ripping to shreds all over again with each slowly passing second. So this is what it had felt like for Elena, when he'd taken that bottle of pills and drunk a vial of Anna's blood. He'd never quite understood just _why_ Elena had been so angry with him that she'd forbidden him from coming to see her for the past 3 months; it wasn't like he wasn't still alive, or undead in some sense of the term; but now he understood, and he'd never felt regret like it. _Ever_. He felt Alaric put a hand on his shoulder, realised that there were tears running silently down his face, _I thought Damon said it would easy…_

And then Damon felt the slightest twitch of movement from her; he stopped the chest compressions and took her face in his hands.

"Come on Elena, wake up" he coaxed calmly listening as she took her first independent breath in over a minute. A minute that had been the longest and most devastating of his life. Stefan dropped his hands from his face, a new kind of shock washing over him and he inched forward, studying her face. Jeremy advanced as well, and Bonnie and Alaric until they were all forming a circle around them. Damon and Elena in the centre.

She moaned in pain and slowly her eyelids fluttered open. She was confused, disorientated… cold, sore, dizzy. She felt like _death_ and couldn't for the life of her remember _why_ because all she could see were his eyes and it forced her to concentrate because something profound was happening here, right here between them. She had _never_ witnessed such vulnerability and humanity in his expression before; she'd seen brief glimpses, so fleeting that she'd wondered if she hadn't simply made them up. Made them up because she _wanted_ to find these qualities in him. She wanted to be able to justify what she felt, why she was drawn to him like a moth to the flame, even though she knew that she was bound to get burned. But this,_ this_ could not be mistaken.

And then the moment was torn from them cruelly with one simple word.

"Elena!"

She opened her mouth about to say _stop! _But she was already being gathered into someone's arms, someone that wasn't Damon and his mask was slipping into place, she refused to break eye contact with him even as he started moving away from her. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry; to shake whoever this was that was holding her because they had taken one of the most important moments of un-guarded _truth_ from them both, from her and Damon and it wasn't _fair_!

"Damon" she whispered calling out to him, trying to tell him not to leave but he was already standing and he was already slipping into the shadows, unnoticed by everyone but her. _No… No! This is wrong, YOU saved me not Stefan I need you here! _She thought desperately, her face already falling into that tell tale expression that let every body know that she was about to cry. And she did, heart wrenching sobs because she was too weak to move and go after him, and she knew that he was hurting. Hurting in a more complex way than Stefan could ever even understand or experience because Stefan had always at least been loved, completely by someone.

"Shhh it's ok, I'm here… I'm here" Stefan soothed, stroking her hair, not caring about the name he'd just herd fall from her lips, she was confused, disorientated it was only fair that she and Damon felt some form of heightened emotions, they had after all been locked in a coffin for close to 14 hours together with only each other to keep the other sane. He would deal with the fall out later; all that mattered right now was that she was safe again, and that she would be ok.

They had taken her to the hospital despite her many protests and said that she'd been searching the ruins of a tomb in the old church, said that she'd become trapped and by the time they had managed to get her free they'd had to perform CPR. Elena had sat through countless tests in an utterly miserable state, Stefan holding the hand of his practically un-responsive girlfriend, Aunt Jenna sleeping in a chair in the corner. Bonnie, Alaric, Matt and a recently discharged Caroline. In fact everyone was here, accept Jeremy and _him_, and if she was honest with herself Damon was the only person she _needed_ to see right now.

She didn't speak a word until a nurse came over to her, a vial and needle in hand ready to take some blood and then she had remembered that _his_ blood was still in her system.

"NO!" she exclaimed suddenly shocking everyone in the room, she didn't care. They didn't need more drama.

"I don't want you to do that I'm fine, I want to go home!"

The nurse smiled sweetly at her, it was patronising and it made Elena mad.

"Sweetie, it won't hurt I promise it will be over in a few seconds" she said, going ahead and reaching for her arm.

"I'm not scared! I just don't want it! You can't force me to! I'm discharging myself, right now!" Elena said angrily, already going to un-hook the various monitoring devices that she was attached to.

"Elena, calm down, what's gotten into you?" Jenna asked standing sympathetically over her.

"Please, I just want to go home" she pleaded giving her best tearful eyes to her Aunt, she didn't like lying but it was the only way to protect _him_, to protect them all. Ever since the founders day parade everything had changed, the towns people were waking up to the fact that there was something seriously wrong in Mystic Falls… Jenna sighed and looked at the nurse apologetically.

"Could you bring us some discharge papers please?" she asked, the nurse looked at everyone in the room for a moment before nodding and leaving.

Elena was sat on the large sofa by the fireplace a blanket covering her legs a glass of water and her diary sat next to her on a small table that Stefan had brought over for her, to make her more comfortable. It had been 2 days since the… incident. That's what they were calling it and no one had seen or heard from Damon. He'd _disappeared_. Taking part of Elena with him and that scared her because she hadn't noticed that he'd become such an integral part of her daily routine even when he was avoiding her. Things couldn't go on like this; something had to give.

She stared solemnly into the flames of the fire aware that she chose this room, this place to sit because it made her feel closer to him somehow, she'd even been making excuses and sleeping down here and she hated herself for being so pathetic, if only he could see her now...

"You know, if you frown any harder you're going to permanently wrinkle that pretty little face of yours"

She snapped her head up suddenly, her heart skipping a beat in her chest. He was standing there, by the side of the fire, the spark back in his eyes; his stance cocky, dressed head to toe in black with a new leather jacket that was almost identical to the other one. Almost but not quite. She wanted to say a million things at once, she'd rehearsed this in her mind over and over and over but now that he was actually standing before her, it all messed up into an incomprehensible fuzz. In fact the only thing that she could breath out was his name.

"Damon"

He smirked at her, holding his arms open as if he were presenting a grand gift to her.

"The one and only! Miss me?" he quipped already walking over to his bar and pouring himself a large helping of liquor. She swallowed; frozen in place he seemed… _fine._ More than fine and that was bothering her. Something was wrong she could feel it.

"Where have you been?" she questioned suddenly finding her voice.

"Oh you know… out and about, enjoying the fresh air" he said joyfully, teasing always teasing avoiding the truth without actually lying.

"Damon" she said, using that tone that meant she was tiring of his games; that she wanted to talk - _always with the talking!_

"Elena, Elena, Elena" he admonished in a sing-song voice, rolling his eyes and walking back towards her the drink in his hands already half empty.

"Don't you worry about me, I'm _fine_" he spoke giving her a pointed look when he enunciated the word fine.

"I did however" he continued reaching into his jacket pocket "Get you a present" and he held out her Blackberry, waiting for her to take it; for her to realise the implications of what he was telling her. Her eyes widened in shock and fear. Bingo.

"You saw Katherine!" she breathed, taking it from him slowly and examining it, as if she didn't _trust _it, _smart girl_. He thought. Knocking back the rest of his drink and slamming the glass down next to hers on the table.

"Not exactly…" her eyes met his, pleading him not to joke around… not when what had happened to them was still so fresh, not when the wounds were still so raw… and he saw her then, laying cold and un-responsive again and something started to break, _stop. _He told himself and just like that the flicker of pain she'd seen fleet across his features was gone again.

He quirked his head to the side and studied her, eventually deciding that the _whole_ truth might be best in this case.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked, moving her legs and sitting down next to her, she nodded, strangely excited to find out what was going on, excited that he seemed to be letting her in… just slightly.

"Isobel" he stated simply and she frowned with confusion before he elaborated.

"It was Isobel who told Alaric where to find us… she was waiting in the woods that night, when I left I could hear her so I went after her… decided to pay her a nice _friendly_ visit" and Elena swallowed, knowing what that meant… was her Mother dead? Did she care after what she'd done to them?

"Why would she help us when she was the one that stood by and watched whilst Katherine _buried_ us?" she asked perplexed.

"_That_ Elena is the right question" he said smirking at her, widening his eyes in the way that he always did when he was enjoying something, enjoying the interaction.

"Alaric tells me that she's ben having somewhat of a crisis lately… with her conscience" he said sounding rather disgusted at the concept… because he knew he had been too, and he hated himself for it.

"Apparently she went to him on Founders day, but he declined to mention that before"

Elena shook her head, frowning.

"Wait, are you saying that she's _good _now… that she's on our side? Does she want to take Katherine down?"

Damon nodded easily.

"Pretty much…" and at her silence and disbelieving look he chuckled, because that is exactly how he felt about the situation.

"I know, it's _rad_ right?" he said using the slang that he'd picked up along the many different paths of his life.

"This has to be a trick…" Elena deduced, it was too much to think about. He held his hands up in defence.

"Hey, I'm on your side… I didn't say I like it, but what else can we do? She's close to Katherine, and Katherine has to die" he spoke, the latter part of his sentence causing Elena to pause because she had never believed him when he'd said that with such a conviction before; and she knew, that he was going to find a way to kill Katherine or die trying.

"Stefan's back" he said simply, his face expressionless.

"What?" she asked confused, before she heard the front door open and heard as he walked towards the living room. When he got to the large archway he stopped.

"Damon" he said, his eyes projecting the inner turmoil and unease he felt at seeing his undead brother sitting next to his girlfriend who looked the happiest that she had been in months, _just_ because he was talking to her again. Damon smirked and stood sauntering over to him.

"_Brother_" he said nodding his head in greeting. He stretched lazily before speaking.

"Well Elena, I'd love to stay and chat but… you know what they say. Two's company, three's a crowd" he spoke winking at her before walking away and leaving the boarding house, leaving Elena feeling confused and empty… _again_.

Stefan looked at her, observing the way her shoulders slumped the minute the front door shut, she eventually looked up at him, her expression guarded.

"What was that about?" he asked, trying to be patient, she didn't need him to accuse her of things right now, she was still confused. Yeah, that's what it was. She shook her head and sighed.

"You might want to sit down" she said and he did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you SO MUCH for all of your amazing reviews guys, I still need to reply to some of them, I'm sorry that I couldn't update yesterday but here's the next instalment, the longest so far. Enjoy!**

Stefan listened patiently as Elena told him about Isobel and he nodded keeping silent, letting her process the information and relay it back to him. He thought back to that night. They'd all been so frantic! The day had started out so normally, so easily, a regular Friday night. He'd called Elena, arranged to meet her at the Grill not realising that as Katherine had answered the call she was kicking one last piece of Earth over the fresh grave in which she'd buried them both.

He hadn't realised straight away. Hadn't made the necessary connections until an entire hour had passed after she'd met him. All Stefan had seen was an Elena that _finally_ seemed to be coming out of her funk. Of course he understood that she was having a hard time dealing with everything that had happened on founders day. It would be a long and slow healing process but the issue was more than that, and somehow he knew that it had something to do with his brother; always his brother.

In the end it had all come down to one simple factor, Katherine wasn't wearing a vervain necklace and for the rest of his undead life he would never forgive himself for not noticing it sooner. But that was part of Katherine's charm, always one step ahead. She'd left just enough time to leave the threat of her return looming over all of their heads, but not as an imminent one; they'd become complacent. And once the penny had finally dropped she'd simply smiled mercilessly, leaning forward and getting right into his face before speaking.

"_Hello lover, did you miss me?"_ and it had made him shudder because it was such an inherently _Damon_ thing to say, and he'd never noticed before, how muchof _Katherine_ was in Damon, how much Katherine had changed them. Both. The years had been so cruel and unkind that it had been just enough to make them forget what life had been like _before_…

Alaric had never explained how he'd known that they needed to look in the graveyard but at the time it hadn't mattered at all. They'd come rushing to help, all come rushing to follow his lead, and it had worked. For that Stefan owed Isobel; something that made him_ deeply_ uncomfortable.

"He's going to kill her Stefan" Elena said warily, regarding him keenly to see if the words effected him the way she thought they might.

"Katherine is _dangerous_" he stated simply for what felt like the thousandth time and she had to hold back the sarcastic "_No shit Sherlock" _from passing her lips.

"I_ know_ that" she said irritation seeping into her tone. God she was such a different person, so much darker so much more bitter, more and more she was becoming irritated by Stefan's codling and it made her feel guilty because she knew he was only doing it because he loved her. _Truly_ loved her, "_And you love him to_o" she reminded herself.

"I'm just saying that it needs to be done, because she's _too_ dangerous to be kept alive" he swallowed, clearing the discomfort in his throat because even though he'd forced himself to believe that his love had only been part of her compulsion, the idea of her being dead to him, _all over again_ stirred something within his chest.

"Then he's going to need our help. Katherine will kill him and I, we can't let that happen" she realised her mistake a little too late and an uncomfortable tension filled the room. Stefan looked down at his hands, standing.

"I'll call Alaric" he stated simply before leaving the room to fetch his phone from his bedside table. Elena let her head fall into her hands. This was only going to get harder, and for the first time since meeting Stefan, since falling in love with him, since _everything_ she wondered if they would be able to make it though.

Her feelings of love for him hadn't diminished, but they were definitely changing. More and more she was starting to realise that this _wasn't t_he fairytale boy-meets-girl, girl falls in love, they live happily-ever-after that she wanted it to be. She was growing up. Her situation forcing her to mature rapidly far beyond her tender years and things were most definitely falling apart between them, she just didn't know if she had the fight left in her to salvage their relationship whilst keeping both of their secrets; whilst keeping everything from Jenna; whilst dealing with the fact that her family was dead, and undead; whilst trying to keep the reaming living people she cared about breathing AND trying to fix the unfixable Damon.

And she was back to Damon. It was ridiculous how much she thought of him and whilst she was on the subject she'd decided that they couldn't make a plan without including him. She picked up her phone sighing before hitting speed-dial number one, recalling how she'd justified putting him first, Jenna second and Stefan last. It was simply alphabetically correct, it had _nothing_ to do with the fact that when she'd been programming it she'd decided that in the case of an emergency _he_ would be the one who could help.

"I know I'm all you can think about, but really? You only saw me 10 minutes ago" he immediately answered, smiling smugly to himself.

"And you're the one that picked up before the first ring was even done, have you been sitting there waiting for me to call? That's sad Damon, even for you" she replied quickly, hearing him laugh on the other end.

"Ah touché" and she couldn't help the tiny smile that was making it's presence known to her lips.

"Joking aside, you need to come back here, Stefan just called Alaric. We need a plan Damon you can't just go after her on your own" he made a noise that was something like a sigh.

"You know, I prefer to work alone. It suits me better" he said in that playful tone.

"No you don't! We've worked together before!" she exclaimed.

"And every time, _someone_ ends up _not _following the plan!" _someone_ being her. He'd had her there and she struggled to come up with a response, instead settling for the words she'd known had worked with him many times before.

"Please Damon" she implored. He remained silent, pursing his lips together as he thought of the pros and cons. He wasn't stupid, he knew he couldn't take Katherine on alone and seriously expect to survive, but he did not want Elena under _any_ circumstances to get involved.

"Sorry, no can do" and with that he hung up. He actually hung up on her. Elena's eyes burned and her body tensed with frustration. She wouldn't give up that easily.

"Alaric say's he'll be round in about an hour" Stefan called from the pantry. Elena had made her decision.

"Ok. Look I'm gunna go home and grab some things quickly, is it ok if I stay here again tonight?" she asked, standing and folding the blanket neatly. Her ribs were still incredibly sore from the life saving chest compressions Damon had given her and she winced slightly at the movement.

"Of course" he said making a motion to go and get his jacket.

"I meant alone..." there was an awkward silence between them.

"If anything happens I'll call you, I promise I just need some time_ alone_" she said walking over to him and giving him a reassuring hug. He sighed wrapping his arms around her gently before kissing the top of her head.

"Be careful"

"I will" she responded smiling her first genuine smile at him in a while, grateful that he hadn't pressed the issue any further. She grabbed her jacket and her keys that were by the front door sparing him one last glance as she left the house stepping out into the cool night air. Elena immediately made her way to her car a determination settling over her before she put the keys in the ignition and sped away.

Damon rolled his eyes as his phone rang for the third time in a row. She really could be a stubborn and annoying little bugger sometimes, ok well most of the time but this was something else. She was either in trouble, or she was pissed as hell that he'd hung up on her. From the number of calls he deduced that it was the latter so he continued to let it ring, and ring, and ring.

"Aren't you gunna answer that?" a woman asked, sliding onto the stool next to him. He bit back the sarcastic_ "obviously not"_ and took a calming breath schooling his features into a devilish grin.

"Ex girlfriend, she just can't get enough of me" he responded easily turning to face his newfound "company". She was a woman probably in her late 30s or early 40s who obviously took good care of herself. Those boobs weren't hers though he thought idly, he'd had hundreds of women like her this was nothing knew and she wasn't he prettiest thing he'd laid eyes on but she wasn't bad either.

She laughed, well giggled in response fixing him with a suggestive gaze.

"I can't imagine why" she said, turning her body pointedly towards his. He reciprocated her gesture and set the glass that was almost permanently attached to his hand down on the bar.

"And I can't imagine why your husband would let such a pretty little thing like you go" he responded inclining his head getting the desired effect she looked momentarily shocked before laughing it off.

"Am I that obvious?" she asked, brushing her hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture.

"No, but the tan line on your ring finger is" he said nodding his head towards the hand that was outstretched against the bar. She made an _"oh" _face before extending her hand towards him.

"I'm Melanie" he took the outstretched hand and brought it slowly to his lips, kissing the top of her hand delighting in the way it caused her heartbeat to flutter dangerously.

"Damon" he replied simply before continuing.

"As much as I hate to do this to you, I actually have to go; maybe we can pick this up some other time" he said suggestively hopping down from his stool gracefully not caring that she was trying to form a response before he grabbed his leather jacket and purposefully walked out of the Mystic Grill. Another time he might have stayed, might have allowed _Melanie _to take him home with her, would have had his fun before leaving her dry; quite literally. But as it so happened the one person he _was_ trying to avoid had taken it upon themselves to walk through the door.

Elena huffed frustrated as her eyes scanned the throngs of people that were gathered in the Grill. Where the hell was he if he wasn't drowning his sorrows in a glass of obscenely strong alcohol? She looked over at the bar confirming that he wasn't there before storming out. There was only one place left to look; the woods. She sat with her hands gripping the steering wheel letting her inner turmoil eat her up. This was a _bad_ idea; she should go home grab some things to keep up with her cover story go back to the boarding house and wait. That would have been the smart thing to do but Elena had never taken the easy way out. Why should she start now?

Elena shivered and pulled her jacket tighter, eyes wide and startled as she crept through the dense foliage. Why was she doing this again? She heard a twig snap and she froze. Ok it was time to leave; this had been a _very_ foolish plan. She walked as quickly as her legs would carry her without breaking into a run aware that something was following her. She could feel it; whatever IT was lurking in the shadows just beyond her field of vision. It was playing with her making noises that would scare her, that would let her know unquestionably that SHE was the pray. She tripped slightly, as the noises got louder and closer._ Oh god, oh god, oh god_ she repeated in her head her eyes darting to where she'd last heard it expecting a monster to come bursting out of the trees towards her.

"Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed!" Damon spat incredulously from behind her and she could barely contain her scream as she turned abruptly and literally stumbled into his chest. He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her picking up on her accelerated heart rate. _Good_. He thought. Maybe she'll finally learn her lesson.

"Well if you'd just answer my calls I wouldn't have to come looking for you!" she raged. He wanted to shake her; to make her realise that she couldn't keep doing this! Couldn't keep gambling with her life so easily.

"It's TOO DANGEROUS for you Elena, why don't you understand that!" he spoke practically shouting in her face leaning down so that his eyes were level with hers, the ire in his voice and his stance momentarily making her pause. She'd never seen him this angry; not with her.

"You sound like Stefan" she spat, and that had been the wrong thing to say because his expression darkened considerably, his grip tightening and she was beginning to feel a little afraid.

"Well isn't this _touching_" Katherine's spoke sarcastically disgust lacing her tone. Her voice pierced the night air clearly, sending a chill down Elena's spine. Damon immediately released her and stepped in front of her, using himself as a physical shield between the two. He forced his anger to drain away and allowed his features to fall into his trademark smirk.

"Isn't it just" he drawled narrowing his eyes, preparing himself for whatever she was about to do.

And suddenly Elena was no longer looking at his well-formed back, no. Instead she was looking at nothing, she whipped around in the opposite direction to see that they had moved, Katherine raising a curious eyebrow as she regarded them both. She was somewhat surprised that he'd been able to preempt her attempt at reaching Elena's vulnerable side. But there he was again blocking her path. Of course she could simply go _through_ him; but there was no fun in that.

She tried again only to be met with is defiance for a second time. Damon tilted his head to the side that cocky smile sending a very clear and silent message; _back off._ Katherine held his gaze for another full minute marveling at the audacity of him. Surely he knew that if she wanted to hurt either of them she _could _and it would be all too easy for her? She smiled amusement playing at her features.

"Very interesting" was all she said, her tone sounding truly curious before she disappeared suddenly, back into the night almost as if she'd never even come. Elena didn't relax however; she was still on high alert as Damon turned back towards her giving her this look that just screamed, _"I told you so"._

"What the hell was that?" she breathed, un-nerved to the core.

"A game" he said simply. Holding out his hand to her in a gesture so un-Damon like that she'd stared at it at first, trying to understand what it meant. He waited patiently though, making sure to keep his expression neutral. To not betray the face that this was a test, a test to see how far her trust in him truly stretched. Even he was a little surprised when she decided to slip her tiny hand delicately into his, not a trace of disdain or distrust evident in her expression. He squeezed it slightly before setting a pace and walking them back towards her car. Back to safety aware of Katherine's eyes on them the whole way back as she followed from the shadows. Elena would never even know just how close they were cutting it, and he wanted it to stay that way.

He may have been the one following her earlier purposefully scarring her, chasing her out of those woods and away from any immanent danger without having to make his presence known, but the second he'd realised that he was also being followed he'd been forced to step in. Forced to save the day; again. Being a hero really didn't suit him he thought bitterly as he let go of her hand fishing her keys from her pocket without saying a word. She was too scared to argue with him right now so she obediently took a seat in the passenger's side.

When they'd walked into the boarding house Stefan, Alaric and Jeremy were already sitting by the fire. They all stood when they entered the room through the grand archway. Stefan fixing her with a distrusting stare that caused her stomach to knot.

"Damon saw me leave Stefan, he followed me home, just to make sure nothing happened" Elena explained carefully hoping against hope that Damon would just play along. He looked at her sharply; could feel his eyes burning holes into her before he stepped forward.

"That's me, I'm just your regular do-good guy; always helping out" he quipped. Oh Elena _definitely_ owed him for this he thought giving her a smile that let her know it. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, can we just get to the point?" she asked going and taking a seat where she'd been resting earlier. The rest of them followed suit until they were each settled.

"Stefan say's you want to kill Katherine?" Alaric spoke, addressing Damon.

"Sure, why not?" he spoke playfully his eyes glittering with mischief in the firelight causing Elena to fight back the urge to scream with frustration.

"Lets be serious about this, even combined we're not strong enough to overpower her" Jeremy spoke surprising Elena. They hadn't spoken much since the incident, the baggage between them preventing either from making an active move to clear the air. He'd grown up so much since he'd taken his life and seeing this new mature responsible side of him was new to her. She regretted being so angry with him that she'd shut him out then, as she watched him.

"We need someone that she trusts" he continued. Stefan frowned not liking where this was heading, Alaric stiffened and Damon… well he was only feigning mild interest in the whole affair.

"Isobel" Alaric spoke quietly. Jeremy nodded.

"If we can get her to arrange a meeting, or to at least get her out in the open then we might have a chance" Stefan spoke, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Alaric, maybe you could get a gun that shoots vervain, or even just a dart?" Elena asked hopefully, he nodded mulling over the logistics in his head.

"I can try" he responded, and Damon laughed, mocking them all and shaking his head.

"She'd know something was wrong the _second_ Isobel asked her to do something; that is of course presuming Isobel isn't just playing us all which I highly suspect is true" he said annoyance creeping into his tone.

"Well why don't you come up with something better then!" Elena snapped meeting his icy gaze. He inhaled and pursed his lips slightly, the rest of the room looking on as the tension between them built to an almost unbearable level.

"Exactly" she muttered, finally dropping her gaze and leaning back into the sofa trying inconspicuously to relieve the throbbing pain in her ribs, she watched, as his gaze seemed to soften slightly as he regarded her and she saw something then; a flicker of churned up emotion passing across his devastatingly handsome face. He was onto her, he'd noticed that she carried herself differently, that she took shallower breaths because of the pain and he looked almost… guilty.

"Damon, it's our best shot. We should at least try it" Stefan said his expression stoic, he hadn't failed to notice whatever that little exchange was between them and he'd decided in that moment that it couldn't go on. It couldn't keep happening and he made a mental note to ask Elena _exactly _what was going on between them; just as soon as Katherine was dealt with.


	5. Chapter 5

Elena had to take a moment. She had to take a moment because the hurt was _so _exquisite, _so_ intense that she couldn't get the air to pass into her lungs. She was pressed against the wall; one hand firmly against it anchoring her, the other clutching desperately at the hollow of her throat. Her expression was one of utter devastation, complete helplessness and her mouth was open her bottom lip quivering treacherously. This pain was so bad that she couldn't even make a sound, couldn't form the horrific wails and sobs that she _needed_ to. It was horrifying, and she was sure that she was dying. Dying from the inside out.

There before her lay Jenna's body. _Ripped _literally to shreds practically un-recognisable, parts of her anatomy that no human should _ever _be able to see because they were meant to be_ inside_ on display. If she had been capable of functioning Elena would have been sick violently. This _couldn't_ be true, this wasn't happening. This wasn't real; life couldn't be that _cruel _to one lost and lonely teenager could it? For the first time ever Elena saw suicide as the _only _possible way to respond to what she was seeing. She could NOT survive this.

"ELENA!" Her eyes finally snapped open and she found that she could scream, _finally_. And she did at a decibel level Stefan had never experienced in his entire life. Everything descended into barely contained chaos; Elena was still screaming like nothing he'd ever experienced, she'd shot up in the bed they were sharing and tried to escape from whatever nightmare was still haunting her, completely disregarding her surroundings. She hit the bedside table roughly knocking a lamp over and it smashed when it hit the floor; the noise only startling her more. Damon had ripped the door open so violently that it was now literally hanging on one hinge, Jeremy following not one second behind him as they came to see what the hell was going on.

Elena had backed herself up against the wall, mimicking the position she'd taken in the dream. No she thought wildly, that was a _vision_. It had been too _real_, whatever that was it was a warning, a message. She didn't care how crazy that sounded and she could not stop seeing her Aunt laying there, torn and dead. She screamed again her voice so horse now that it was practically silent and clutched her head bending over, as if she were crumbling at the very seems.

Damon's feet had moved him of their own accord towards her, disregarding everything and not giving a shit about what Stefan would think. All he cared about in that moment was finding out what the hell was wrong with her. He sank down to her level, kneeling on her left side whilst Stefan knelt at her right and reached out his hand slowly, as if he were approaching a frightened animal. He took her quivering arm in his hand gently prepared to defend himself if she decided to lash out. She didn't, instead she brought her head up slowly meeting his utterly confused expression, looking between the two brothers.

"She's going to kill Jenna! She's going to kill her!" she blurted out, turning towards Stefan.

"Please you need to go and see if she's ok! Right now" she said frantically, he frowned confused.

"Elena, it was just a dream you're ok"

"NO it wasn't! Please Stefan I need you to go and see if she's ok!" she said pushing at him desperately willing him to go already, they were wasting time damn it! He cast one utterly confused look at Damon as they silently agreed that he would stay and make sure she was ok before standing and making his way to Elena's house, indulging her request. Jeremy stood torn between trying to comfort his sister and going to see if his Aunt was indeed hurt. Damon turned back towards him, nodding to the door.

"I've got this, go" he said simply and after one moments hesitation, Jeremy left. She was in safe hands no harm could come to her; Jenna on the other hand…

"Tell me what happened" Damon spoke softly lifting her chin; she frowned trying to hold back tears as the terrifying images flashed through her mind.

"I'd come home from the boarding house and when I got there she… she was" Elena couldn't finish the sentence and she shook her head closing her eyes tightly.

"It was REAL Damon. I don't care if you think I'm crazy I _know _what I saw and that. That was real, it was like I was seeing something that's going to happen" she whispered frightfully hoping that he'd believe her. He looked troubled. Deeply troubled because he knew what could induce such a terrifying and real experience, he knew because he'd caused it many a time, just for the sheer amusement.

He shifted his weight so that he was crouching directly in front of her as she huddled against the wall, shivering in the cool night air. He gently cupped her face with both of his hands opening his expression to her, showing her that he was being sincere; all joking and baggage aside. This was important.

"Do you_ trust_ me Elena?" he asked, using every piece of the knowledge of body language he'd deduced over the years to gauge her reaction on a subconscious level, rather than a conscious one. She took a moment to calm herself to slow her heart rate and concentrated on making him believe that she did, because it was true. For all of Stefan's warnings she hadn't listened, and she trusted him.

"Yes" she answered slowly and he nodded accepting her word.

"I'm going to compel you to stand up and walk to the other side of the room" he said slowly, searching her expression for any trace of fear or distrust. All he saw was confusion as she took the time to thoroughly digest what he was asking to do to her; she was about to ask him why but something stopped her. She'd said she trusted him, if she went back on that now she knew she wouldn't get another chance.

"Ok" she whispered nodding her head in agreement. He didn't remove his hands from where they cupped her face, instead he brushed his thumb across her cheek tenderly; he just couldn't resist and it conveyed how much her trust meant to him, without the sappy awkward words. Words like _thank you_.

"You're going to stand up Elena. You'll walk to the other side of the room and wait for me to come to you, do you understand?" he spoke as his pupils contracted and the blue of his iris became an even more un-natural shade; he watched in absolute disbelief as her expression became blank and she repeated his words back to him carrying out his orders, the vervain necklace still hanging around her neck. _That fucking bitch_! She must have swapped the necklace whilst they'd both been knocked out!

"Fuck!" he screamed angrily, kicking the bedside table sending it smashing into the far wall where it disintegrated into pieces. Elena didn't even flinch, still under the influence of his compulsion, waiting patiently to complete his orders. He calmed himself quickly and strode purposefully over to her, grabbing her by the face again.

"You will remember everything that just happened, you will remember that I compelled you and that you let me" and all of a sudden she snapped out of the trance. She grasped the necklace immediately fumbling with the clasp at the back until it was released. She HAD to get it off, to get it _away_ from her. It wasn't _hers_ it was Katherine's. One that she'd had made to look and feel EXACTLY like the other one… minus the vervain. Oh god, she felt naked, exposed. Vulnerable. Anyone could get into her head, more importantly _Katherine _could and had. She'd been wondering around Mystic falls for nearly _two weeks_ now without the protection of vervain, had it really been that long? The days all seemed to blur into one endless stream of complication after complication as they each tried to get back to some semblance of normal life. Each waiting for Alaric to complete the first phase of their _"epic plan"_ as Damon had so affectionately named it to get Katherine.

"What are we going to do?" she asked starring up at him as she threw it with no regard to the floor along with the other items of Stefan's now trashed room.

"You need to start ingesting vervain and until we can find you something more permanent you'll have to carry a bag with you; at _all_ times" he instructed, examining the black night beyond Stefan's windows, probing to see how close she was, knowing before he did that she wouldn't have stuck around.

"Come on; and put some clothes on, you're cold" he said his tone once again indifferent betraying the amount of concern he really felt, another time he would have teased her, riled her up by making crude comments about the view but as it was it just didn't sit right with him. Elena noticed just how little she was wearing then and blushed, embarrassment seeping through her body, the thin teal camisole and a pair of barely-there sleeping shorts were way too revealing; _especially_ around him.

She walked over to the chair upon which her clothes sat and pulled her jeans on quickly, not bothering to take the shorts off first, next was the three quarter length red shirt she'd been wearing that day, again slipped on over the camisole she was wearing; aware of Damon's eyes on her the whole time as he stood waiting for her in the doorway.

He led her downstairs, to the basement and she recalled the last time she'd been down there, huddled in the small cold dark hallway with him waiting; hoping that Stefan would be ok. It caused a chill to pass through her body. He pushed the solid metal door open and it creaked heavily protesting its use after decades of degradation.

She followed him into the damp room, the smell of wet earth hitting her nose causing a number of shivers to race down her spine. It smelt like the graveyard, she un-consciously stepped closer to him and he raised an eyebrow. _Interesting._ Elena could vaguely make out what looked like a bag in the shadowy darkness and she moved forward, bending down and picking it up examining its contents. Vervain.

"Do we need all of it?" she asked quietly, looking at the powerful herb wondering how such a tiny thing could stop such power in its tracks.

"Bring it just incase" was all he'd said.

They emerged from the basement the same time Stefan was stepping through the front door.

"Is she ok! Where's Jeremy?" Elena immediately blurted out.

"She's ok, she's sleeping in her room, Jeremy wanted to stay for a while, said he was going to watch over her, he'll call if anything happens. What's this all about?" Stefan responded, concern showing clearly on his features as he came to stand before them, noting the bag of vervain she held.

"Where's your necklace?" he asked before either of them could answer, concern immediately merging into something else. Something that caused his gut to churn and his emotions to run wild as he shot his brother an accusing glare. Damon actually looked offended then, had his relatively good behaviour for the past 5 or 6 months gained him _nothing_! He allowed the rage to fill his eyes, his stance.

"It wasn't mine, Katherine must have switched them when she caught us. That one has no vervain; she's been _compelling_ me" Elena choked, still having a very hard time believing the false sense of security she'd been living in. All of her nightmares since the _"incident", _all of the times she'd found herself standing in a new part of the house wondering why she'd even walked there in the first place – eventually chalking it up to being emotionally and physically exhausted, had been part of Katherine's compulsion. She didn't know how many more revelations she could take.

Stefan visibly slumped reeling from the news. Of course! How had he not seen it sooner? The tell tale signs of compulsion… _"Because you overlooked it, took it for granted that she was protected" _a voice inside his head answered him and he looked sharply at Damon who was fixing him with a cold, dark expression. Elena watched the exchange with bated breath, the last thing she needed was for them to start fighting.

"Please don't do this now" she said, placing a hand on Stefan's tense arm knowing that her touch would reassure him, would calm him down. What she hadn't been expecting was the scathing look she'd received from Damon. It was harder than she'd anticipated to fight her initial reaction, which had wanted her to drop her hand; instead she left it there, making a point. Defying him. Challenging him.

"How am I going to eat this?" she redirected, holding the bag up slightly. Damon smirked inclining his head.

"Well, I've been told I make a _mean_ cookie" he said reverting to the tried and tested method of flirtatious banter. She looked at him sceptically raising an eyebrow. Damon… baking? She bit back the laughter at the ludicrous visual that popped into her head; him wearing an apron, watching his cookies bake with meticulous precision. She'd never been so grateful for his endless capacity to turn a serious, tense situation into something to joke about until that moment. This, making cookies in the middle of the night she_ could_ deal with so that's what they would do.

"Do I even want to know why you just so happened to have the ingredients already in the house" Elena asked puzzled as she rested her head against her palm, elbow on the counter that she'd pulled a chair up to, watching him move gracefully around the kitchen.

"No?" he said a genuine smile crossing his face; he'd actually gone and collected them that morning, coincidently. He'd been growing tired of seeing her, always looking so miserable. Noticed that she'd been skipping meals and she couldn't afford to do that. Not when she was already so thin and breakable. He'd been planning on surprising her, to lighten her mood with some good old fashioned flirting – Damon style.

"Come to the dark side Elena; we have cookies" he said depositing a plate of freshly steaming dough before her and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Her small innocent smile and breath of laughter reward enough for his troubles. She took a deep breath and pulled the plate closer, they did smell _amazingly _good. It couldn't kill her right? She took a small bite of one, testing the flavour against her tongue and had to bite back the moan of approval. Her eyes rolled back slightly in her head.

"God, these are _amazing_!" she mumbled mouth still full of the delicious mixture; she couldn't even taste the vervain. He laughed.

"Don't sound so surprised! You know I can cook, I can do _everything_" he admonished lightly, smiling down at her as she polished of a second one reaching for her third. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, really though these are _good _cookies, you can't even taste the vervain" she said, not caring for table manners. This was Damon after all. Once she had finished the plate she straightened, shifting on her stool to face him as he lent casually against the counter, studying her with that lopsided smirk gracing his features but it was his eyes that made her heart flutter and her stomach drop out. They were so light and carefree and suddenly her words from weeks ago fleeted through her mind. _I just want to know you Damon. _And it took her breath away slightly because she realised that this, this moment here. These stolen moments of seemingly insignificant words and actions were_ real_.

And Stefan realised it too, as he stood in the doorway covered just enough by the shadows to remain un-noticed. In fact the only person that seemed to remain in the dark in its metaphorical sense about what was happening was Damon. He'd known this would happen sooner or later, he'd hoped for later but it had been inevitable. And it hit Stefan with a sudden cutting clarity that shook him to the core. _"That my brother, that is your humanity". _It was here in these quiet moments where he noticed the biggest change in him, in them both. He'd never seen his brother so unguarded; sure the teasing was still there, the banter but it was borne of something other than hate, or revenge or personal gain. It was his desire to make her smile, to elicit that delicate laugh from her lips and it was in these moments that Elena Gilbert would unknowingly, slowly but surely fall in love with the darker, more handsome Salvatore brother.


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh gosh... There were so many amazing reviews last chapter, I just want to thank you all so much for taking the time to leave feedback and for making writing such a rewarding experience! Just incase anyone else was confused about Jeremy, yes he is a Vampire now and he lives in the boarding house :) **

Elena felt an immense sense of de-ja-vu wash over her as they held another crisis meeting in the boarding house. It was late in the afternoon when Alaric had managed to come over excusing himself from Jenna's company, he'd used some old excuse about important paperwork and left. Jeremy emerging from his chosen hiding place as he'd stepped out of the front door, finally satisfied that Katherine wasn't going to try and kill her… yet. They'd both made their way to the boarding house to find Stefan, Damon and Elena already waiting for them by the fireplace.

"Have you thought of the possibility that she already knows what we have planned? Alaric asked, actually accepting a glass of stiff bourbon from Damon.

It had been one of those days. His renewed contact with Isobel was taking its toll, all of the anger and resentment that he just hadn't been good enough bubbling to the surface again. Plus the fact that he was keeping things from Jenna, lying to her just like everyone else in her life had and did. He'd been the one keeping her company since Jeremy and John had both "died". He'd listened as she cried, listened as she'd expressed her deepest fears about being a failure because she hadn't acted sooner concerning Jeremy's withdrawal from life. Listened as she expressed her concerns about the amount of time Elena spent doing things she had no idea about, listened when she'd confided that she'd interrupted Elena kissing Damon and she had no idea what to do about it. Of course he'd already known that it was Katherine but he had to keep up appearances, continue the lie.

Every night he'd been the one to try and ease those fears; whether it be on the receiving end of a tearful midnight phone call or seated on the sofa in his house drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and eating too much pizza. He was the one at the end of the day who thought of different ways to try and make her smile, even if it was just for a little while because everything was falling apart around her and she had no idea what to do.

He saw a lot of himself after Isobel had gone in her, and so he resolved to help her because he _cared_. He regarded Elena as she thought about the implications of that statement, eventually she nodded.

"I think it's fair to assume that she compelled me to give her information" she spoke miserably, where did that leave them? Back to square one she thought bitterly. She'd never actually wished anyone dead before in her life because that just wasn't part of who she was, but for Katherine, for Katherine she may just be able to make that one exception. What she had done was _un-forgivable_. No matter what her motives were no matter how cruel life may have been to Katherine when she was Human so many years ago Elena _did not_ care. And that realisation scared her because it signified a change in her, something deep down inside of her that she'd never even known existed. She stole a glance at Damon then, it was only fair right? Whilst she was internally contemplating her own darkness it was only right to think of him.

He appeared to be deep in thought, those perfect eyebrows furrowed eyes sharp and intense as they peered at some invisible inner demon, she could see the cogs turning in his mind as he sat in the armchair to her right both arms resting idly on the sides, a glass of liquor held in his right hand. He shook his head slightly before speaking, not really looking at any of them as his sharp mind processed the information.

"This isn't necessarily the worst thing" he trailed off, finally lifting his eyes to gaze sharply at her, she swallowed uncomfortably knowing that she wouldn't like whatever he had to say.

"Think about it. Katherine _thinks_ she knows what we're planning, she thinks she's in control and as long as she keeps believing that she's at her weakest"

Stefan leaned forward slightly, considering what his brother was saying trying to understand where he was going with this.

"We have a rare opportunity to _trick her_"

"Absolutely not!" Stefan interrupted suddenly, knowing where this was going. Had Damon lost his mind!

"What?" Elena asked, still not following straightening her back bracing herself for whatever this was.

"He wants you to let Katherine keep compelling you, to feed her a lie" Stefan blurted out, already shooting daggers across the room at the audacity of his brother.

"Of course I don't_ want_ her to do it but if you have a better idea of how to get rid of Katherine, please go right ahead, enlighten me, enlighten us all!" Damon snapped suddenly, losing his cool the glass of liquor shattering in his vice like grip. Elena jumped slightly at his outburst and watched with morbid fascination as the glass cut into his skin, blood dripping to the floor before healing seconds later… and suddenly there was a blur of movement and all hell broke lose.

Stefan charged forwards an in human snarl ripping from within him he didn't care if he'd already lost this battle before he'd started. He was so ANGRY, he_ hated_ his brother so much in that moment that it reminded him of his first years as a newborn. So blinded by rage, guilt and resentment that he'd resolved to savagely attack his brother as frequently as he could both of them fighting viciously almost to the death as their turmoil regarding Katherine ripped them apart from the inside out. It was Damon who had promised Stefan an eternity of misery and for that he'd silently promised Damon the same.

"Stop it! Please" Elena cried desperately, standing as Damon threw Stefan headfirst into a bookcase watching as it splintered and spilled it's contents into a heap on the floor, Stefan slumped at the bottom of it.

The next few seconds passed agonisingly slowly as if she were watching some kind of slow motion replay; Stefan had picked up a large splinter of wood and before anyone could react had leapt up charged forwards and plunged it into Damon's chest, literally _millimetres_ from his heart. Damon's eyes widened in disbelief, he'd actually _meant_ to kill him that time, meant to but thankfully he'd missed. He looked down slowly to see the jagged piece of wood protruding from his torso Stefan's hand attached to it, holding it there… holding his undead life in his hands. The moment drew out as Stefan's darkened stormy eyes met Damon's startled ice blue ones and then as suddenly as the rage had come, it dissipated and Stefan's features returned to normal, the veins and fangs disappearing as he stepped back in horror releasing his brother.

Elena watched sickened as Damon slid to the floor; the loud thud as his hit the ground the only sound that could be heard in the tense silence. Her expression was one of shock and barely contained disdain as she slowly turned her focus to Stefan, her boyfriend, the one who had just tried to kill Damon all because he'd suggested that she trick Katherine into believing she was still under her compulsion.

"What have you done?" she whispered suddenly, harshly._ How could he?_ He was supposed to be the _good _one, the patient one the _perfect_ one. Had she really been so far gone these past few months that she'd not noticed the growing chasm between them? Not recognised the signs as they grew further and further apart? Not noticed that everyday he'd been slowly losing that internal battle between his guilt and his overwhelming desire to just shut if off? He shook his head backing further and further away from them, from the room, from his sins.

"I'm sorry – I – I'm so sorry Elena, please… I'm _sorry_" he muttered over and over, his eyes wide and un-believing. He was a monster he truly was and he needed to leave. He needed to escape so that he couldn't hurt anyone else. And suddenly Elena was left starring at nothing reeling from the shock and the pain of realising that maybe; maybe her love for him just wasn't _enough_. That maybe whatever was going wrong between them couldn't be fixed with a few reassuring kisses and "I love you's", that maybe she really was in too deep, that the answers to his internal guilt didn't lie with her.

She kneeled slowly beside Damon who had pulled the wood from his chest a few moments ago and was simply waiting for the physical wound to heal. He recalled the last time this had happened; the last time that it had been Stefan's hand inflicting the damage, _"you missed"_ was all he'd said as he'd slid to the floor that time too, panting from the pain. No this time had been different, this time his brother had well and truly meant to_ kill_ him, and he didn't want to admit it or acknowledge it but that realisation hurt him more than he thought it would. Fighting, threats and the occasional staking were nothing new, but somehow in all of those instances a fact had remained unspoken between them; you're my brother, I may hate your guts and resent your very existence but you are still _my brother_ and I won't ever admit it, but I love you; and for that I won't kill you.

Maybe this time he had finally pushed him _too_ far. He needed to say something, something to help him ignore the hurt, to ignore his wounded pride because his brother had _finally _managed to best him in a fight.

"Well that was _rude_" he said, feigning indifference and pushing himself into a sitting position, grimacing as the bones of his ribs laced themselves together and the last remaining pieces of torn skin healed themselves. Elena let out a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and relieved sigh before she reacted without thinking and wrapped her arms around him. Damon stiffened sitting up further and taking her weight. He frowned as he felt her squeeze him tightly burying her head into his leather-clad shoulder. He glanced at Alaric who was fixing him with a "What the hell is going on" look that perfectly conveyed how perplexed he was by Elena's actions too. He noted that Jeremy had gone; probably to follow Stefan and his brow furrowed even further, slowly he brought one arm upwards wrapping it around her back in an awkward hug squeezing her slightly.

"I'm_ fine_" he spoke shifting his weight so that he could stand, surprised when she stood with him, refusing to let go. Well this was a new and unexpected development he mused looking to Alaric to provide some help, he didn't like the way her touch made his skin tingle. Didn't like the fact that it ignited that part of him that he'd strived to squash for so long. Alaric simply shrugged his shoulders and looked away, whatever he was witnessing between the two of them felt a little too personal, a little to private to be intruding upon.

Elena closed her eyes tightly and inhaled his scent; it was intoxicating a mix of expensive cologne and something she couldn't place, something that had always reminded her of him. She didn't know why she was behaving the way she was but she felt the overwhelming need to be close to him, to reassure her of his presence because in the past two weeks he had been the only constant, he never lied, he never pressured her and he never asked questions; he just let her_ be_. And since she was pretty sure that her relationship with Stefan had just ruptured beyond repair she needed something to ground her, to keep her from breaking down and right now that something was Damon.

She felt him slowly relax into the embrace, felt the tension in his muscles easing and she had to hold back the tears of relief when she _finally_ felt him wrap his other arm around her accepting her embrace. Letting her know that she hadn't just overstepped some unspoken boundary between them, that she hadn't just ruined the understanding they had come to.

They broke apart after a few moments her cheeks colouring slightly as she caught his expression, it was the same one he had worn when she'd called him her friend, slightly startled eyes searching her face trying to determine for himself what this meant. She smiled slightly at him trying not to let the awkward silence between them deter her and she reached her hand out motioning towards the hole in his shirt.

"You might want to change that" she said quietly, he quirked his head and smirked at her.

"Wanna come help me?" he asked laughing when she rolled her eyes in response, noting that her heart had picked up its pace slightly.

Alaric cleared his throat slightly, reminding them of his presence.

"Urgh, you're still here?" Damon joked turning back towards him.

"Unfortunately" he mumbled in response eliciting a smirk from Damon. He pressed on with the original reason for their meeting.

"So are we agreed? We're going to try and trick Katherine into thinking Elena can still be compelled?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly and looking between the two of them. Damon didn't answer, this was after all Elena's decision and he wouldn't be the one to force her to do _anything. _He re-directed his attention to her, waiting patiently for her to speak and eventually she nodded her head.

"It's the only way" she spoke quietly, a sadness creeping into her voice because she had the distinct feeling that they were playing with fire and they _were_ going to get burned. Alaric nodded once accepting her statement.

"Jeremy's gone to find Stefan…" he continued not missing the way Elena looked down at the floor at the mention of her boyfriends name "I think Jenna should stay with me tonight, I'll try and pitch the idea of her moving in until we have this under control" Alaric said, finishing the last remaining contents of his drink. Elena nodded again.

"I agree, will you tell her I'm staying here again? She still believes that Stefan's sick right?" she asked.

"Of course, she misses you though" he said and that caused her to swallow tightly because she knew that was true. She knew that she'd been a less than stellar niece as of late, when her aunt needed her the most, but she just felt as if she were being pulled in so many different directions at once; she was like butter being spread far to thin on too much bread.

"Tell her I'm sorry, I promise I'll visit her tomorrow" she said finally, fatigue seeping into her stance. Alaric spared the two one final look before letting himself out without another word. As soon as she heard the door close Elena sighed and let herself flop onto the couch un-gracefully.

"I guess you better start teaching me how to fool Katherine, because I have no idea" she said addressing Damon who was still standing near the ruined remains of the bookcase. He said nothing, made his way over to his alcohol poured himself a fresh glass and sat in the chair he'd been occupying earlier. She watched him in silence as he drank the amber liquid, marvelling at the way his face remained expressionless whilst it burnt a trail down his throat, the fire reflecting in his eyes as he watched her back.

"I guess I better" he finally agreed nonchalantly, setting the empty class down casually on a table.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for your awesome feedback guys I appreciate it so much! **

Stefan didn't know where he was going. He was only mildly aware as the scenery surrounding him blurred past in a flash or disjointed colours, letting him know that he was at least somewhere in the woods of Mystic Falls.

How could he justify what he'd just done? Why had he done it? The questions just wouldn't stop coming, he'd lost control _again_. The anger had been so great as it swelled up inside of him and then he'd noticed Damon's blood, trickling tantalizingly slowly to the floor and every fibre of his being had seen red.

He'd charged forward and attacked because of an overwhelming desire that had possessed him telling him to hurt Damon. To make him feel just a fraction of the jealousy, resentment, fear, despair, guilt – _everything_, to make him understand what it was like to constantly feel all of these emotions. Because he was jealous of his brother, jealous of how easily he seemed to squash his humanity, how easy he seemed to have it. He hadn't meant to stake him, it hadn't been a pre-meditated action, it had just _happened_.

Stefan felt sick, he felt scared and alone because he'd seen the distrust and disappointment in Elena's eyes, he'd actually seen the moment when a small part of the fire she had for him extinguished and he feared that he may never be able to rekindle that flame. The problem was more than the fact that he'd almost killed his own brother, no. It was more than that; it was the fact that his actions signified a change deep within him.

He was becoming the very thing he despised and he hated himself because the change had happened so gradually since he'd opened his heart to Elena's light that he hadn't noticed as tiny parts of his darkness had started to consume him, like a disease spreading across his rusted heart. He wondered then if Elena could love him after this, if she could take that step and leave all of this behind with him, because he realised in that moment that he'd been foolish to think that history wouldn't repeat itself. Life had already taught him that he was wrong and Damon would always be involved, _always_ and Stefan would never be able to escape.

This was the worst idea they had ever come up with, Elena was convinced of that fact as she sat listening intently to Damon.

"First thing's first you need to get _that _under control" he said leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he regarded her keenly. She looked at him startled.

"Excuse me?" she asked, feeling slightly offended by the tone his voice had taken on.

"Your heartbeat Elena, you need to control it, keep it steady" he instructed calmly, never lifting his intense gaze from hers. She blushed; it was silly really, of course he could hear her heartbeat, of course he could hear every time it skipped a beat or increased in pace and what's worse, he'd have known every time that had happened because of him, because of something he'd done. Like right now.

She watched as the corners of his lips slowly upturned into a _knowing_ smirk. She shifted in the chair looking down at her feet uncomfortably, squirming under his scrutiny.

"Couldn't you just compel me to stay calm? Or even better why don't you just feed me the lie now and we _let_ Katherine compel me?" she asked, still refusing to look at his face, she couldn't it would only cause her to feel things that she wasn't ready to feel.

"No, it doesn't work like that; she'd know if you were under my compulsion, she's strong enough to override it but she'd know" he explained. Elena frowned as she processed the information.

"Won't she know that you compelled me earlier?" she asked curious, a little bit of worry sneaking into her tone. He shook his head.

"No, I didn't alter your memories or force you to behave in a certain way for an extended period of time. That's what gives it away; we can tell when a memory had been tampered with, it's like reading a book and finding that a page is missing" he explained patiently, all smirking and flirtatious eye movements aside.

"Ok… so how do I control my heartbeat, is that even possible?" she asked indignant at the very suggestion, he scoffed at her.

"Sure it is, haven't you _ever _watched TV Elena? You know, crime shows - the mandatory let's try and beat the polygraph storyline?" he joked cracking a devastating smile.

"This isn't funny!" she deadpanned and he held his hands up in defence quirking his head to the side.

"I know, I was _trying _to lighten the mood" and then he stood motioning for her to follow his lead. She did, slowly and followed him to the centre of the seating area so that they were standing at opposite ends of the fire, the flames dancing between them. It was strangely poetic, the way the flames reflected the growing tension between them.

"Think of something that makes you calm, something that you can concentrate on" he instructed watching as her expression changed, as he saw her sifting through the memories of her young life to find that something.

It took a few moments whilst she carefully considered all of the things that had happened to her, all of the memories, only focusing on the good before she stopped at one. One that had always filled her heart with a sense of profound peace; it was a seemingly insignificant event but to Elena it meant the world, especially now.

Her parents had just brought her a new swing for her 8th birthday; she remembered the feel of the sun beating down on her face a cool summer breeze blowing through her hair that she wore with an Alice band at shoulder length. Her summer dress was pink with polka dots and she was wearing the cutest pair of pink sandals that she'd just HAD to have when her mother had taken her on a shopping trip the week before. Elena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, she could almost _smell_ the freshly cut grass, could hear the laughter of children playing in the streets, could almost feel her mother and fathers arms surround her as she ran to them both, squealing with excitement over the new swing. She vaguely heard a voice as she immersed herself in the feelings, taking in every single detail that she could.

"Concentrate on it, no matter what I do" Damon spoke softly as he approached her silently.

She stiffened slightly when she felt his cool fingers make contact with the skin on her wrist, as they danced lightly over her pulse point. She pushed those feelings from her mind, forcing them back, forcing herself to think only of that day. The day of the swing. Yes, that's what she'd call it, _the day of the swing_.

She concentrated on keeping her breathing steady as his fingers slowly, agonisingly slowly feathered up her bare arm. To her shoulders and finally resting upon her neck. _"the day of the swing, the day of the swing, the day of the swing"_ she repeated loudly in her head, ignoring the Goosebumps that were erupting in the wake of his too-gentle touch.

"Open your eyes Elena" he spoke softly, she was doing well so far, he'd been unable to detect a change in pace but with Katherine she couldn't pretend to be asleep the whole time, she needed to be able to do this, whilst looking into the face of a monster and so he concentrated on the feel of her delicate veins throbbing against his fingertips beneath silky smooth skin and let the bloodlust take over; just enough to change his features.

She inhaled sharply when she did, finding herself mere inches from his face as she stared into bloodshot eyes. _"THE DAY OF THE SWING"_ she practically shouted to herself; and instead of seeing his face she made herself play the scene in front of her eyes, as if she were a bystander watching a loving family. She watched as her father pushed her dutifully as she giggled and screamed _higher, higher!_ And slowly, amazingly everything else began to melt away and she was no longer looking at him, she was looking _through _him. Good.

Damon let his features return to normal satisfied that he'd had the desired effect, she'd been startled yes, her heart may have threaded a little differently for a mere two beats but this was progress and she'd done better than he'd expected. He let her go, stepping back and allowing her, her personal space and she let herself return to the room then. There was a beat of silence before he spoke.

"Good, again"

They'd continued for a good two hours, Damon trying various things to try and elicit a reaction from her, a combination of caressing and vamping out suddenly, getting into her personal space, disappearing and reappearing on her other side and grabbing her in the process. Some of which she'd failed, some of which had made her scream but all of them helped her to learn and by the end of their teaching session she'd managed to control her heart rate through all of his tests. In the process of one evening she'd learned more about Vampires that she had through all of these months and gained a new residence. Damon had entrusted his property to her, verbally signing that deal that would ensure that Katherine couldn't cross the threshold.

Her mind had occasionally drifted to Stefan, now that her anger was dissipating slightly, wondering if he was ok? If he was taking his actions as hard as she thought he would be, if she should go and find him or at least call him, tell him to come home and to bring Jeremy because it wasn't safe for them to be running around out there after each other, but somehow something had stopped her. She needed to concentrate on this, to give her undivided attention because all of their lives depended upon her fooling Katherine. Damon had decided that she should tell her the truth, tell her everything that they were planning, to answer any question that was asked; and Damon, Alaric, Jeremy and Stefan would all come up with a sub-plot, one that Elena wasn't going to be let in on, for her own safety.

The concept was complicated and it made Elena's head hurt but from what she understood Isobel was to arrange a meeting between Katherine, Damon, Stefan and herself to discuss what it was exactly that she wanted from the three of them. Elena was to tell Katherine that they were planning on bringing Alaric and Jeremy along with them as back up, and that Alaric would try and subdue her with a vervain dart shot from a remote location. This was what Katherine would know; this is what she had to tell her – when she asked.

The hardest part was waiting, Elena deduced as she went through her pre-bed routine, she was sleeping in a guest room of the boarding house, Stefan's room had yet to be cleaned following the destruction of the previous nights events.

Katherine smirked wickedly from the shadows as she stood in the boarding house's grand garden. Poor little Elena she thought idly, if only she _knew._ She leapt cleanly and silently onto the window ledge taking only a moment to gain her balance before she spoke, keeping her voice low enough that other Vampires would only hear if they were listening for it.

"Come to the window Elena" she spoke calmly. Elena concentrated hard on maintaining an even pace of breathing, this was it the moment of truth and she rose from the bed slowly, keeping her expression blank, un-seeing and she walked calmly to the window facing the epitome of her worst nightmare. "_Concentrate on your parents NOTHING else, she hasn't been invited in, you're safe" she_ told herself as she looked into those seemingly bottomless, black murderous eyes.

Damon had replaced the fake necklace just before she'd gone to bed, to keep up appearances and the weight of it seemed to be dragging her down like a chain around her neck.

"Open the window" and she did, the cool night air blasting into her face almost causing her to shiver. Katherine smiled, so sinister, so cold and calculated.

"That's my girl" she said pouting playfully before her face reverted to its cold expression.

"Now, Alaric was here earlier, tell me why" she commanded.

This was it, the moment of truth, Elena answered careful to keep her tone steady, even and expressionless just like Damon had taught her.

"He's spoken to Isobel, she agreed to help him, to help us" she spoke leaving her eyes wide and blank as they looked into Katherine's devilish gaze. She quirked her head to the side.

"Stefan's gone somewhere, why?" she continues her irises contracting in that tell tale way letting Elena know that it was working, their crazy idiotic plan was _actually_ working, she could not believe it!

"I don't know, we had a fight he left without telling me where he was going or when he'll be back" Katherine pursed her lips.

"Hmmm, because of Damon" she spoke voicing her thoughts…

"Tell me Elena, how do you really feel about him, about Damon" she asked sounding genuinely curious and Elena nearly let her cool slip then because he had not been expecting a question like that.

As she tried to think of an appropriate response she found that she couldn't lie, she couldn't because the words would get stuck and it would give the game away.

"I care about him, a lot more than I should" and she wished she'd been able to whisper that statement, been able to convey the emotion behind it because she knew Damon was listening, she knew because he'd told her he would; from the cover of his bedroom so that he'd be able to step in if Katherine even started to indicate that she was on to them.

Damon felt the most un-familiar sense of warmth wash over him as he replayed those words over in his mind_. "I care about him"_ she actually cared about him _"a lot more than I should"_ and she was ready to admit it, ready to acknowledge whatever this growing fondness between them was. His momentary high was shattered just moments later though when he picked up on the next words that fell from Katherine's treacherous lips.

"See that's where you come up stuck Elena, because he's _mine_ and I won't let you have him" she spoke angrily, her tone low and dangerous. She was trying so hard to fight the tremors that wanted to wrack her body.

"Now get back into bed and when you dream tonight you'll see him die, you'll watch as he burns in hell and you won't be able to a single thing to stop it" she spat her expression darkening her fangs protruding from her face as an immense wave of possessiveness washed over her because she'd_ seen_ the way Damon looked at his pathetic little Human. She'd seen it and it was rancid.

Elena turned wordlessly and made her way back to the bed slipping under the covers and shutting her eyes, not daring to open them, to move even a _millimetre_ not until she was absolutely sure that Katherine had gone. Her parting words ringing loud and clear sending chills down her spine. It felt like it had been an eternity before she heard Damon open the door.

"She's gone" he said, not really believing what they'd just got away with himself as he watched Elena slowly open her eyes, finally letting the tremors of fear wrack her tiny frame.

"I can't believe we just did that" she whispered, still frozen in place practically convinced that if she moved somehow the world would be broken and Katherine would come tearing through the window that Damon was now shutting to admonish them both.

"Her arrogance has always been her blind spot" he answered darkly, still standing by the old fashioned window looking out onto the grounds. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"What you said… I just want to _thank_ you" he spoke, not missing the similarity between this words now to the words he'd spoken before, but this time it was different, this time he was saying it to the right Elena and it mattered just as much. She sat up in the bed, facing his back as he refused to make eye contact with her.

"Look at me" she whispered, and he turned. Slowly, his expression partially guarded as he regarded her face, the way her doe eyes were looking at him, pure innocence radiating from within them and he felt that he didn't deserve to be looked at like that. Not by her. He swallowed and frowned, waiting for whatever she was about to say.

"You don't have to thank me. You're my _friend _Damon, I care about you and I know that you care about me too. This is real and it's important to me" she said slowly, clearly urging him to understand unsure of where her sudden boldness had come from. Or why she suddenly felt the pressing need to clarify this for him.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in what she had said and he bit his lip, finally nodding slightly accepting what she'd just given him.

"You should get some rest" he said softly, hating how his voice seemed just a little too-tender right now. She sighed letting the fatigue take over her body. He was right.

"Will you stay? Just until I fall asleep" she asked, and she had to admit the lopsided smile he sent her way made her heart melt a little more than it should have.

"Sure, just don't tell Stefan" he joked, walking smoothly over to the side of the bed that she wasn't occupying and laying on it gracefully, crossing one leg across the other and letting his hands rest on his stomach.

Elena ignored his comment, her eyes already drooping shut of their own accord before she mumbled her words muffled by the soft pillow underneath her head.

"Thank you"


	8. Chapter 8

When Elena awoke the next day the sun was streaming through the open windows, it was beautiful outside. She made a face of disproval before stretching the aches from her body; the weather shouldn't be like this, not when everything was falling apart around her. Damon was no where to be seen, the sheets as flat as if he'd never even rested there and she sighed contemplating the events of the previous night. Her thoughts settled on Stefan after some time and she resolutely made the decision that today, she'd work on trying to repair whatever damage had occurred between them. The last thing she needed right now was to lose something else, she didn't think she would be strong enough to withstand it.

When she walked downstairs after taking a quick shower she noticed that Damon was already up doing something in the Kitchen. She smiled softly when she padded overly slowly; it appeared that he was cooking for her, again.

"You know, I could get used to this" she spoke quietly. He looked over his shoulder at her, shooting her one of his winning smiles.

"_Finally_, I know you need your beauty sleep but I was getting bored" he said, flipping over a pancake with such efficiency that she was momentarily reminded that there were still so many things about him that she didn't know; so many things that she wanted to find out. Elena laughed softly and walked over to the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice.

"You could do with some yourself, you're starting to look your age" she teased lightly, finding comfort in their constant. Their default, this was_ them_. Light banter and simple conversation, companionship and once again Elena silently marvelled at how far they'd both come. She didn't know when but somewhere between trying to convince herself that she hated him, to wanting to understand him, to finally admitting that yes, she cared for him; he'd gotten under her skin. Taken little pieces of her soul, _so_ small that she'd barely even noticed until now. No, she wasn't in love with him, not yet but she could no longer deny that they had an un-explainable connection.

"Ouch, that _hurts_" he said shaking his head and smirking. He picked up a plate and laid it in front of her easily returning to the frying pan and depositing the first of the pancake mixture on her plate. She was sipping on her juice regarding him over the rim of the glass, her eyes such a beautiful shade of chocolate brown. Damon mentally slapped himself upside the head for acting like such a whipped idiot, here he was making her breakfast and he couldn't even use the excuse of vervain to justify his actions. This was more his brothers style, he thought bitterly.

She smirked her thanks and reached across to the lemon juice and sugar that was already waiting for her, sprinkling them over her food.

"Have you heard from Stefan?" she asked carefully after a few mouthfuls, not failing to notice the way he stiffened visibly. Whilst his back was to her she could just imagine the look of disdain that would have flashed across his features at the mere mention of his brothers name. He'd been waiting for that, in fact he was surprised that she'd managed to hold out for so long. Of course she _had_ to ask about him, she always did.

"Nope" he responded, making sure that the "p" popped obnoxiously.

"I need you to help me find him" she continued, her eyes boring holes into the back of his head. He rolled his eyes then.

"What so he can try and _kill_ me again? Hmmm; thanks but no thanks" he responded not bothering to hide the sarcasm and resentment in his tone. He heard her sigh, visualised her slumping using the counter for support.

"Don't do this, not right now" she asked quietly. And he hated the way it made him pause momentarily, hated the way she'd already won this battle because at this point he was pretty sure that he'd do anything for her. He flipped another pancake aggressively this time, refusing to answer her. As soon as Katherine was dealt with he needed to deal with this… cancerous growth of emotion. Yeah, that was a good way to describe it he mused.

"I don't do nice Elena, don't push my buttons I'm not in the _mood _to go on a wild goose chase" he snapped.

Elena closed her eyes steeling her self for the fight that was about to occur; well it was only a matter of time. They'd co-existed in peace for far too long, it seemed that there would always be something to eradicate any progress they each made in terms of getting along. Always one step forward and two steps back.

"That's _bullshit_ and you know it" she replied raising her eyebrows at him to accentuate her point now that he'd turned to face her, his eyes on fire. Their gazes locked, battling silently as the tension grew between them like a bomb just waiting to explode.

"_Elena_" he warned, his expression darkening as his jaw tensed in an effort to remain in control. As far as he was concerned his brother could _die_ for all he cared, and he MEANT it more that he'd ever thought possible.

"Elena?" Stefan asked timidly, quietly from the far end of the kitchen. Elena jumped violently and let out a small shriek; she'd been so immersed in Damon that she hadn't even noticed him, vampire speed or not. She spared one last look at Damon to see that he'd already masked his features into their classic indifference and she cursed silently.

"Stefan" she answered, slowly and carefully turning on the stool so that she could face him better. For all intensive purposes he appeared to be ok, unharmed. His clothing was a little creased and his hair more windswept than usual but aside from that it looked as if nothing had changed.

"Where have you been?" she asked, crossing her arms unsure of how to act around him now. There were so many things that they needed to talk about, so many things that had been left unspoken.

"The woods… I had to… think" he answered sounding as lost as the last time she'd seen him in this state. She softened slightly remembering how she'd gotten through to him last time, by offering him her love. Showing him that he could find redemption through her light. Something was stopping her this time though, and she was pretty sure that, that something was standing in the kitchen with them. She nodded, her face set in a glum expression borne of confusion and guilt.

"Elena, I'm so sorry for what I did. I don't know why it happened I just… I couldn't control it" he tried to explain, inching closer to her. She examined his words carefully in her mind, he was saying sorry to _her_. Not to Damon, not to the person he'd tried to kill.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to" she said, her frown growing heavier by the second. Was he really so blinded by his hate that he couldn't see that the problems between them had nothing to do with her? In fact they were all borne of his jealously, of his insecurity, his pure fear that history would repeat itself.

Stefan turned to regard his brother then, who was reaming uncharacteristically silent, as if the conversation were not taking place in the same room as him as he poured more pancake batter into the frying pan delighting in the way it sizzled when it hit the metal. Elena was right, he knew that but that didn't make it any easier for him. The words were stuck in his throat, unable to pass from his voice box to his lips and out into the open air for Damon to hear. No. He couldn't and everyone knew it.

"Stefan?" Elena pushed after the seconds of brooding silence stretched into minutes. That one word conveying the fact that she was waiting for him to speak, waiting for him to at least acknowledge that she was right and she hated the way that it felt like her heart would die if he didn't utter those words. _Please, just say it._ She prayed silently because she realised in that moment that if he couldn't do this… if he wasn't sorry then he was no longer the person she'd fallen in love with.

She'd fallen for the quiet, mysterious _gentle_ boy who seemed to have such a sad and fragile nature about him. The one that _always_; irrespective of what the situation was did the_ right_ thing. The one who was in touch with their humanity, the one who empathized and understood human emotion and how to respond to it. The one who had a conscience, the one who abided by moral implications and if he couldn't apologise to his own _brother _for nearly killing him over nothing, then everything Elena loved best about him would be shattered.

She felt desperate tears pool in her eyes as the silence continued to stretch on, and on…

The clutter of china meeting the granite counter made her jump slightly breaking her train of thought, a new plate stacked with more pancakes sat in front of her and she finally looked away from Stefan, looked up at Damon whose expression was completely blank.

"Enjoy the food" he said, tone flat and Elena knew that he didn't mean a word of what he'd said and then suddenly he was making his way out of the Kitchen towards the front door.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked hating how clingy that sounded, hating the fact that it had fallen from her lips before she'd even realised that she was going to say it. He faltered slightly flashing her an in-dignified look.

"Out, why do I need your permission now?" he snapped. A rhetorical question, because as easily as he had said it, he left; the front door slamming in his angry wake.

Elena let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding and turned to face Stefan again, who was looking at her with an expression of betrayal.

"It's not what you think it is" she explained quickly, standing and walking towards him. God why couldn't the past 24 hours be undone? Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't she go back to being blissfully unaware of Vampires and the whole twisted world in which they existed.

"Look, Elena… I know that you, _care_ for Damon" he began, having great difficulty with saying the words "you", "care" and "Damon" in the same sentence "But you have to know that this change in him, this change in his behaviour; it's not going to last" he continued. Silently imploring her to understand. She looked at him sceptically waiting for him to elaborate.

"Sooner or later he'll get bored and he'll move on Elena, he'll leave and start being himself again and I don't want you to get hurt when that happens" he spoke. She looked at him perplexed taking the time to process the words in her mind. They couldn't be true, surely they couldn't? The little flashes she'd seen, the flashes that betrayed his mask of cold and calculated efficiency. No. Those moments were_ real. _When she'd witnessed them it had been real, not because he'd wanted her to see, wanted her to see to make her feel sorry for him.

"You're wrong" she answered, shaking her head.

"I know you don't want to believe it, and it's hard for you to accept after all of the years you've been fighting each other but he's _changed_ Stefan, he is changing and he won't hurt me, I know he won't" she said defiantly. And Stefan sighed sadly, defeated for now.

"I didn't mean physically" he spoke, almost inaudible to the human ear and she swallowed tightly at that comment because it hit closer to home than she would have liked. It forced her to acknowledge the fact that whatever her feelings for Damon were; slowly they were approaching the point of no return. She wondered in that moment if this was what it had been like for Katherine too? If she'd also had to battle so hard to try and keep Damon_ out. _Obviously she'd failed, did that mean that she would too? Did that mean that she was doomed to force the two to hate each other even more – if it were possible?

"Please, I don't want to do this right now, I just want things to go back to the way they were… but I don't know how to get there" she whispered, voice thick with emotion and eyes brimming with tears of fatigue, guilt and sorrow.

He brought a hand slowly to her face, cupping it gently and she closed her eyes relishing the feel of comfort. Of familiarity.

"It's going to be ok" he said quietly, drawing her into his arms slowly, neither one of them really believing that statement. No. This felt like the proverbial calm before the storm and holding on to him was the only thing Elena could do in that moment to not break down; and she hated the fact that this time his embrace didn't feel like she was coming home. No. It didn't hold the same emotions that it usually held and that scared her because she didn't know what that meant for them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Gosh, So many amazing reviews from you all! I can't tell you how much it means to me! I'm sorry that this chapter took a little longer, I just finished my last exams for the summer so I'm going to have a lot more free time on my hands to write! Some of you are asking for "Lemons" I'm not sure what this is but I think I have a pretty good idea about what you're asking for haha. You'll just have to be patient I'm afraid, this one is a slow burner... Sorry D:**

Elena sighed as she sat down on the corner of her bed surveying the stillness that was her bedroom. There was a light sheen of dust covering the top of her dresser and she frowned because it made her realise just how little time she spent at home these days. Stefan was waiting for her downstairs talking to Aunt Jenna, explaining that he was feeling much better after his bout of "glandular fever". Katherine hadn't come back since that night and she didn't want to admit it but it was beginning to nag at the back of her mind. It made her feel on edge and not in a good way. She felt the air change and steeled herself for the figure that was bound to appear, to her surprise it wasn't Damon this time, it was Jeremy.

"Jer?" she breathed, startled that he was standing before her. He smiled awkwardly down at her.

"Hey… look, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry – for everything. I'm sorry for being so angry with you about lying to me; it's taken some time, but I understand that you were only trying to help me" he began, his hands fidgeting slightly telling her that he was nervous. She instantly softened and got up throwing her arms around his neck.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you" she spoke softly, her voice thick with barely contained emotion and relief. He smiled allowing his head to rest upon her shoulder and wrapped his arms around his sister.

"I wanted to say something sooner, but I didn't know how" he continued and her only response was to squeeze him tighter, trying to convey how happy it made her to know that they were going to be ok, that her actions hadn't pushed him away forever.

"It's ok, it just matters that you've said it now; and I'm sorry too, for the way I reacted after you turned" she whispered closing her eyes against the memory of walking upstairs to find him dead. Overdosed on her _own _pills.

"No… no I understand. It was selfish, I didn't even think of how it would make Jenna feel, or you… I – I think we should tell her" he said, pulling away from the hug so that he could face her.

Elena's eyes widened slightly in shock, he honestly thought that they should involve Jenna in all of this? In this mess, she shook her head vehemently.

"No. We can't. It's too dangerous Jer! I don't want this life for her" she said willing him to understand.

"But she blames herself, if we told her then she'd understand she wouldn't feel so bad all the time! And it's too dangerous for her to stay here! I know we guard the house but if Katherine really wanted to get in, she could; Alaric can only convince her to stay with him some nights, she won't move in with him" he answered.

Elena sighed and started pacing, trying to formulate a plan that would work. He was right of course, Jenna couldn't stay in the house given what they were planning to do, she could not allow her to become collateral damage. Not now, not ever. That's what led her to think of Damon, to think of the easiest and least disruptive way of trying to get her Aunt out of this house. Compulsion. She inwardly groaned at the prospect, given everything that had happened with Jeremy she was apprehensive about suggesting it at all, but what other choice did she have? She would rather have a family that hated her for lying to them than a family that was dead.

"What if Damon compels her to move in with Alaric?" she began slowly, testing the waters to see how he would react.

"Just until Katherine's gone and in the meantime I can stay at the boarding house" she continued. Bracing her self for whatever reaction Jeremy would give. He seemed displeased with the idea but he took the time to consider it anyway.

"She'll know something is wrong, that something is missing – deep down inside Elena. That's how it was with Vicky; I still felt empty. I just couldn't remember why" he explained a look of sadness crossing his features at the mention of her name. She bit her lip her expression one of sympathy before she continued.

"I know Jeremy, but _anything_ is better than her being hurt" he said, fighting hard to keep the tone of her voice steady as the memory of her decimated carcass flashed freshly across her mind. Eventually, he nodded his acceptance.

"Why do want Damon to do it?" he asked, confused. He knew that Damon felt a strange sense of loyalty towards Elena, he'd seen and experienced it first hand, but he'd had no idea that his sister had started to return those sentiments. Had he really missed that much? She seemed taken aback by his question and he saw the way her expression masked itself, becoming defensive as she worked to think of why she'd immediately chosen Damon.

"Because his powers are stronger that Stefan's" she finally decided upon. Yes. That was a good enough and justifiable reason. There was no need to delve into the logistics of their complicated, _whatever_ with her brother right now.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows at her playfully and smiled.

"Sure, if that's what you want to believe" he teased. She looked at him completely indignant before hitting his arm playfully.

"Don't be so stupid! There's nothing going on" she answered a small smile creeping its way onto her face too. It felt so good to have her brother back, to have that companionship and she had to admit her heart felt the lightest that it had in weeks, it was like she could suddenly breathe a little easier than before. She'd make the most of this time because she was sure that it wouldn't last.

"So we're agreed, I'll ask Damon tonight?" she said, getting back to the matter at hand. Jeremy nodded once.

"Tonight" he agreed.

Damon was sitting at the bar of Mystic Grill staring at the amber liquid sitting before him in a glass. He wasn't brooding, no. That wasn't his style; instead he was "contemplating". That was the term he preferred to use to describe the internal musings of recent events, more importantly – Elena related events. He wanted her. He wanted her body, mind and soul to be forever fused with his, that's what he _wanted, _but currently he was trying to determine what he already _had_. Her trust and her friendship and he had fought hard for it. Lost little pieces of his armour for it, allowed her to blast little holes into the wall surrounding his heart for it and he just could not figure out how he felt about that right now; on the one hand he despised it, he absolutely _loathed _that he had a weakness. It was pathetic, laughable. He was a hypocrite of the worst kind though because at the same time, some small un-identified part of him welcomed the blessed release after hundreds of years of tightly coiled control. And it was that part of him right now that was desperate for more. And that was why when his phone sprang to life reading "Incoming Call, Elena" his proverbial heart leapt.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he drawled, his voice silky smooth and his tone seductive. He heard her suck in a breath and smirked.

"Damon, I need your help" she began. He assessed whether she was in danger quickly by the tone, pace and steadiness of her voice and once he was satisfied that she was not, he decided that he could toy with her. After all it was so easy to get a reaction from her.

"Don't you always? What's wrong this time, did Stefan kill your _wabbit_?" he said, only half mocking her. His brother still a particularly sore subject. He delighted in the fact that he could practically hear her roll her eyes; could see that look of impatience cross her features.

"Look if you don't want to then fine, I don't have time for this" she spoke angrily, getting ready to hang up. He let out an exasperated and exaggerated sigh.

"Urgh_ fine_, but lighten up will you? I was just having some fun, you should try it sometime" he said, already grabbing his coat and heading back to his car. She ignored his comment and continued.

"Can you meet me at my house?" she asked, playing absent-mindedly with the bottom button of her blouse as she rested against the pillows of her bed.

"I'll be there in 5" and with that he abruptly hung up. She sighed and took the phone away from her ear, locking it before dropping it on her beside table. All there was left to do was wait, and true to his word 5 minutes later, a tap came from her window. She turned her head to the side to look at him perched outside of the glass.

"It's open" was all she said, she couldn't really be bothered to get up to let him in, not when he could just as easily do it for himself. Besides, it wasn't like him to knock. There was a blur of movement in which he gracefully pulled the window open and slipped into her room before plopping himself down on the bed next to her. She only stiffened in surprise marginally before relaxing again. Typical, she thought.

"Pray tell Elena, _what_ can I do for you?" he said, drawing out the latter part of his speech, accentuating each word carefully. She glanced at him, sceptical because she could smell the too strong alcohol on his breath.

"Were you at the bar?" she asked, looking slightly puzzled. And he cocked his head to the side scoffing at her slightly.

"Duh"

Where else would he have been? He wondered, frowning at her slightly. She brushed that comment off and decided to cut to the chase, his presence was making her stomach do silly things that felt distinctly like those tell tale flourishes you felt whenever you saw a cute boy in the street. She silently admonished herself for getting distracted and continued.

"I need you to compel Jenna into moving in with Alaric" she asked quietly, sitting up and turning so that she could face him properly, she folded her legs under herself so that she was sitting cross-legged. He pursed his lips slightly considering her words not needing to ask why she was requesting this. He was surprised that she hadn't asked sooner if he was being honest.

"Ok" he said simply. Meeting her sceptical gaze, he gave her a winning smile and waited as she regarded him.

"That's it?" she asked slowly, after all of his joking he was just going to agree to do this for her as a _favour_, no strings attached? He made a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a contemplative "hmm" before sitting up abruptly making sure to get into her personal space.

"Don't worry, I'll think of a way for you to repay me for my… _services_ later" he quipped, his cool breath causing Goosebumps to erupt all over her skin. She found herself un-able to blink, breathe or form coherent thought as the electricity crackled between them. They were practically nose to nose, alone in her bedroom, _on_ her bed. And the only thing she could process right now was that his eyes were amazing; she felt that she would be completely lost in their depth if the niggling feeling in the back of her mind that shouted "Stefan" at her would just _shut up already_. And her eyes widened at the realisation that she'd just thought that about her conscience reminding her that she had a boyfriend irrespective of the way things were going between them, she would not cheat on him. She _couldn't_ do that to him.

She cleared her throat the noise jarringly loud in the tension filled silence and she forced herself to move, to get up from the bed – to distance herself from him because it was getting harder and harder to deny the impulse to touch him. And she wanted to, so desperately and that scared her.

"I – You should tell her that I'm staying at the boarding house and that she's ok with it" she continued her voice quavering treacherously. His eyes followed her like a predator and she had to fight the instinct to tuck her hair behind her ear, a nervous gesture - one that he'd be sure to pick up on. He got up lazily from her bed, spotting something on the bedside table and giving it a once over before standing and walking towards her bedroom door.

He held it open expectantly waiting for her to walk through it; it took a moment for her brain to catch up with the rest of her body after that close call, but eventually it did and she found herself moving of her own accord downstairs towards the quiet voices chatting by the TV in the living room. Jenna was sitting on the sofa next to Stefan a cup of coffee planted firmly in her hands; she looked thinner, paler. Her skin a little duller than she previously had been and it flooded Elena with guilt as she walked into the room, Damon following closely behind her.

Jenna's eyes widened in shock slightly at the sight of him, the door definitely had not gone.

"Damon! How did you get here?" she asked slightly alarmed, she hadn't seen him since she'd caught him kissing her niece and she was fairly sure that any ill feelings to held towards him were completely justified. She sent Elena a questioning and slightly accusing look, they'd both come from upstairs… what had they been doing? Had they been doing it whilst Stefan was in the house!

She put the mug down rather more forcefully than necessary and stood, ready to put a stop to whatever was going on under her own roof. The words however died on her lips as Damon stepped in-front of her taking her by the arms gently bending slightly in order to make full eye contact with her. Stefan stood moving forwards ready to intervene before he caught the shake of Elena's head that stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait, what the hell are you doing?" she asked slightly disgusted and_ completely_ confused. Elena stepped forward and took her hand.

"It's ok" she said, before slipping off the bracelet filled with vervain that she had given her for protection and placing it in her pocket. Before Jenna could utter another protest Damon began to speak.

"You're going to move in with Alaric Saltzman tonight, he asked you last weekend at dinner and you said yes. You'll go and pack _only _the things that you need and he will be over to pick you and your things up in an hour. Elena will be staying at the boarding house with Stefan; you're ok with this. Do you understand?" he asked, watching as her expression became blank and serene. She smiled slightly regarding them all before speaking.

"You know, I really need to go and pack… do you mind?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before she made her way upstairs to her bedroom. Elena shivered slightly the precedence of what she had just done weighing down on her. She looked at Damon whose expression was unreadable.

"Thank you" she said simply, and he nodded, looking between Stefan and she before deciding that it would be best to escape the confrontation before it began.

"I'll go and get Ric, fill him in on our lovely new living arrangements" he spoke, chipper as always before striding comfortably out of the house and into the dying sunlight. Elena looked over at Stefan, feeling slightly guilty for not informing him of what she'd had planned.

"It was easier this way" she whispered, watching helplessly as one more wall erected itself, making the chasm between them just that little bit harder to close.


	10. Chapter 10

**As always amazing reviews! I can't thank you all enough, I need to get better at replying to them! Just know that they really do mean so much to me! **

Alaric arrived exactly one hour later his expression as he walked through the door telling Elena everything she needed to know; he was _not_ happy. He paced through the corridor quickly, immediately making a be-line for her.

"You agreed to this?" he asked incredulously, for once actually believing that his young student may finally have lost her mind. After everything that happened with Jeremy, she went right ahead and allowed Damon, that - that _bastard _to compel Jenna with no objections!

"It was my idea" she said slowly, frowning in confusion. Hadn't Damon explained what had happened on the way? She glanced around the living space, looking over Alaric's shoulder to see him casually lingering in the doorway, eyes intense yet un-readable.

"Excuse me?" he said, inclining his head forwards in disbelief over what he'd just heard.

"I asked Damon to do it. It was my decision" she elaborated raising her chin defiantly belaying the undercurrent of charged emotions that she was currently experiencing. She pursed her lips in an effort to stop her expression from broadcasting how much his gaze of disapproval and… was that disdain that she saw? Was affecting her, casting another look over to the other occupants in the room.

Stefan was stood with a pained expression on his face, he was slowly inching his way to her side, probably getting ready to mediate the situation if it got out of hand and Damon. Well, Damon was watching the whole affair with measurable interest, his brows furrowed in concentration as he leaned casually against the wooden door-frame, his arms crossed lazily across his chest.

"You had no right" Alaric continued, pointing at her trying to emphasize his point. Before Elena could even form a response another voice had cut in.

"That's _enough_" Damon spoke, his tone icy and dangerous as he pushed himself effortlessly from his resting place. He walked over to Alaric who had momentarily turned to face him making sure to step _well_ into his personal space.

"_You_, do not talk to her like that" he stated calmly and clearly, and Alaric was taken aback for a moment. This was the second time he'd experienced the "protective" version of Damon and if he was being honest, he was no less surprised now than he was last time. The silence between them was tense as those old feelings of hatred surged up and consumed him making the air hard to breathe in. Damon wouldn't back down; Alaric knew that, and because of that he did the only thing that he could. He conceded, breaking eye contact with a bitter laugh.

Elena hadn't missed the way Stefan had tensed and frowned in reaction to Damon's words but she couldn't bring herself to care. Not right now. Shouldn't it have been him that was sticking up for her? Shouldn't he be fighting her corner? And sadly she realised that the only reason that he was remaining silent was because he didn't agree with her actions either. And that made her angry, so angry. Why was it that Damon was the only one that seemed to see eye to eye with her about this! She was aware of how wrong things had gone last time, of course she'd thought about that, it was practically_ all_ that she was thinking about but the fact of the matter remained; Jenna could not stay in this house any longer with Katherine on the lose. She'd tried in-avertedly to get to her leave voluntarily and that hadn't worked; what other options did she have left?

"Right, and I guess you would know what's best for her?" Alaric continued after a moment, turning to face Elena again.

"You haven't been _here,_ Elena. You don't know what she's going through because you spend all of your time elsewhere!" he spat. God this was just like Isobel all over again, he couldn't sympathise with Elena, not on this one. Not after knowing how long he had suffered thinking that his wife was dead only to learn that he'd never been good enough in the first place. The truth always came out and the thought of being an active part in lying to Jenna, the only woman who made him just _forget_ about Isobel, about Vampires, about all of this bullshit; was tearing him apart. It hurt him because he'd been there, and he'd lived it and he knew how much it _sucked._

Elena felt like she'd been slapped. She felt like she'd been slapped because everything that he'd just said was true. She felt ashamed, guilty because he was right; she hadn't been there when her family needed her the most, she didn't know every time her Aunt cried herself to sleep wracked with guilt; and she hadn't done anything to try and find out or more importantly to help. She watched numb as Damon grabbed Alaric roughly by the lapels of his jacket, pulling him forcefully to his face so that he could berate him for his defiance.

"Are you_ stupid_?" he demanded, enraged. "Did you not just hear what I said?" he asked, giving him a forceful shake for good measure before shoving him against the wall with such force that the plaster cracked and fell to the floor in pitiful clumps.

Alaric had known at the time that it was a bad idea to carry on and he'd expected some kind of violence but not this. This was raw, and he noticed the way that Damon's eyes were beginning to darken; his hand twitched upon reflex, wanting to reach for the vervain dart that he always carried in his back pocket.

"Don't even try it" Damon seethed, his voice a low and dominating hiss. "I'd rip your head off before you could even get your hand free" he spoke quietly, delighting in the genuine wave of fear that his threat elicited.

"Damon" Elena whispered, stepping towards them both tentatively. "It's ok; he's right" she continued, her voice cracking ever so slightly as she admitted it out loud, for everyone to hear.

"I failed her; but you have to understand that I'm doing this because I love her. I can't leave her at risk and this was the only way I could think of to keep her safe" she spoke, her voice regaining some of its strength as she implored him to listen to her.

He broke away from Damon's grip, shrugging his jacket back into place fighting to urge to rub the spots on his arms that had been subjected to Damon's death grip; he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much that had hurt.

"Ric! There you are, I'm all set shall we go?" Jenna's too bright voice echoed from the hallway. Everyone tensed, schooling their expressions and stances back to neutral.

Elena turned and looked away, she couldn't face seeing her like this, so spaced out and unaware it physically _hurt _so instead she squeezed her eyes shut, folding her arms across her body as if it would lessen the pain, and sat down on the sofa. Her hearing filling in the blanks of what was going on for her.

"Yes. Sure, lets go" she heard Alaric say, his tone a little breathless, a little unsure before the sound of a bag being picked up and the front door closing could be heard. There was a beat of stillness, of utter silence before she sighed and let her head fall into her hands. She was only vaguely aware as Stefan's hands drew soothing circles on her back, what she couldn't ignore however was that tingling sensation that let her know that she was being watched.

Damon, now suitably calmer was standing somewhat awkwardly in the threshold, _always the third wheel. _He mused as he watched the scene play out before him. He hadn't meant to get so defensive, hadn't meant to react the way he had but it seemed that every single day his control regarding Elena was fraying at the seams. He'd always had a great and unparalleled capacity for loyalty; he knew that. But that didn't mean that he'd had cause to use it in the past 145 years outside of searching for Katherine. God this was so fucked up! He thought angrily.

Elena wiped the few silent tears that had escaped from the corner of her eyes defiantly, hoping that she was being as discreet as possible. Breaking down was not an option, yet the tension between the three of them was becoming un-bearable. She just needed to escape.

"I'm going to grab some stuff; I'll meet you at the boarding house" she said dismissively, already standing. Stefan stood abruptly, his mouth opening to say something, to do anything that might comfort her but she was already bounding up the stairs.

"And then there were two" Damon drawled sarcastically fixing his brother with a challenging look.

"What are you doing, Damon?" Stefan asked quietly, calmly.

Damon quirked an eyebrow and scoffed at him defensively.

"Excuse me?"

"What. Are. You. _Doing_" Stefan repeated, crossing his arms as he pronounced each word slowly and carefully.

"God, you know what? This whole _stay away from Elena, I'm so insecure _speech is getting _really_ old _really_ fast" he deadpanned.

There was a blur of movement and suddenly they were face to face, Stefan dropped his arms to his sides, preparing to defend himself from whatever onslaught Damon was about to unleash upon him.

"Let me tell you something _Stefan_;" he spat the name distastefully. "You cannot control me, I decide what I can and cannot do; I don't need to explain myself to you, or to anyone. Now, _back. Off_" he growled.

Stefan clenched his jaw, his fists mimicking the action but any response died on his lips because he could sense Elena hovering at the top of the stairs, listening to the conversation. He sighed and broke eye contact, taking a step back.

"Good" Damon said, rolling his shoulders leisurely, he was too tense. He knew exactly what would make him feel better. He took a breath and straightened up his jacket.

"All this brooding, it's _killing_ my fun; in fact I can practically hear the drunk sorority girls calling my name; later Stefan" he chided, a wicked smirk gracing his features before the door slamming shut signalled his departure.

Elena let out the breath she'd been holding from the top of the stairs and began her decent, a rucksack full of fresh clothes and a few little nick knacks that she couldn't bring herself to leave behind slung over her shoulder. Most of her clothes were already living in a spare bedroom at the boarding house; siphoned off gradually over the weeks. When she reached the bottom on the wooden staircase Stefan walked over to meet her, his expression still troubled following all that had transpired. The air was tense between them; full of unspoken words and past mistakes and suddenly Elena just didn't know what to say. Didn't know what to do to try and make the situation less awkward.

"Come on; lets go" she eventually decided upon, taking his hand in hers and pulling them through the front door. She couldn't dwell on the fact that she'd just closed the door on part of her old life – ignorance was well and truly bliss.

Damon rolled his eyes as he drank greedily from a buxom blonde's neck; what the hell did she want? He broke away, letting his fangs retract and his face revert to its more innocent state before turning to face the bemused and flirtatious smile.

"Isobel" he greeted, nodding his head slightly but not bothering to wipe the blood from his face.

"Hello Damon" she greeted, her ever-present smile never leaving her features as she took her time surveying the damage he'd inflicted upon the young girl.

"You know, it's rude to interrupt someone at dinner" he stated noticing the subject of her attention; she snapped her eyes back to him and stepped closer.

"Hmm" she scoffed before continuing.

"I have a message for you" she said, raising her eyebrow suggestively. That seemed to get his attention. His face; which previously had expressed his disinterest in her appearance sobered slightly and he narrowed his eyes, waiting for her to go on.

"Katherine wants to meet you; you, Stefan and Elena. She'll be waiting for you; 10 o' clock, Friday night at the cemetery" she said, reaching out and fixing the collar of his leather jacket. He remained stock still, giving no indication that he had even heard her. She pouted slightly and removed her hand, preparing to leave, just as her back had turned on him and she stopped; throwing a look over her shoulder, and what he saw perplexed him.

Her eyes, it was her eyes that gave her away, just like him he mused. They showed her vulnerability, they showed the small piece of humanity that remained.

"Oh and Damon? She knows; she _knows_ about Elena. It was smart I must admit, but you and I both know that she's not fooled that easily. Do you understand what I'm saying?" she asked. And his only response was a small nod as his throat constricted painfully on him.

"Good. Because this is the _only_ leverage I can give you; use it wisely" and with that she had disappeared, a gust of wind and her haunting words the only indication that she'd even been there at all.

He stood for a long while, stock still in silence trying to process the fact that in 3 days time he realistically could be dead. Really dead, they all could be; suddenly he didn't have an appetite anymore. He turned and faced the blonde who was still standing with a dreamy expression on her face and sighed clenching his fist slightly before compelling her to go home; to go home and forget because he sure as hell _couldn't. _Sure he'd had his fare share of close calls – the term 9 lives didn't even begin to cover it, but all of those times had been a matter of circumstance. He'd never been in a position where he knew that his time was running out before and the feeling was new. Uncomfortable and troubling.

By the time he reached the boarding house it was late, he was pretty sure that Elena would be sleeping, in Stefan's arms no doubt – he hated the way that thought increasingly _bothered_ him, bothered him to the point that he thought he might feel real and tangible hurt every time he saw them together. What he hadn't been expecting however was to see the young girl wondering the hallways of the upper floors, coming to a stop right before his bedroom door – her ear pressed to it. He smirked in amusement before speaking.

"Can I help you with something?"

Elena let out a small scream, whipping around so suddenly that she was forced to back herself against his door just to keep herself upright.

"God, you scared me!" she gasped. He raised an eyebrow and quirked his hair to the side.

"What were you doing?" he asked, well and truly curious.

"I-I was. I wanted to come and see you" she blurted out, eyes wide and startled, how frowned at that slightly.

"_Really_?" he said smirking at her suggestively, stepping a little closer to her.

"No – I mean – Yes – wait. No" she said flustered growing frustrated with her own inability to articulate her point. He chuckled softly at her, his eyes dancing in the dull light of the hallway.

"It's ok; admit it I won't tell Stefan if you don't" he whispered, sending chills up and down her spine. She shoved at his chest lightly, putting some distance between them. She exhaled nervously.

"Where did you go?" she asked, eying him suspiciously. He groaned rolling his eyes.

"You've got to stop doing that" he said, straightening up.

"Stop doing what?" she asked, puzzled.

"Stop acting like you're my keeper; I'm a big boy Elena I can take care of myself" he spoke irritation seeping into his voice. She watched as a myriad of emotions crossed his features – he was hiding something from her, something important. She grabbed his arm forcing him to make eye contact with her.

"Don't do that! Stop hiding from me" she exclaimed letting her irritation seep into her tone, surprised by how forward she was being; she didn't want to push him too far but there was no way that she was going to let him do this – let him slip back into his old ways; not after everything. Not after the progress he had made.

She watched his jaw clench as his eyes darted in rapid succession surveying her face; as if he were weighing his options, before his lips parted slightly and he sighed; they needed to prepare, she had a right to know.

"Isobel came to see me tonight" he began watching, as her expression became one of apprehension and surprise.

"Katherine wants to meet us" he said quietly, all traces of amusement and teasing abandoned. She slumped against the doorframe and let her hand fall from where it rested on his upper arm; useless. He could hear as her heart sped up, fear overwhelming her, they weren't ready; this couldn't happen now, _she_ wasn't ready.

"When?" she whispered breathless.

"Friday night, at the cemetery" he didn't miss the way she shuddered in recognition of the setting. None of them had stepped foot in that_ place_ since the incident. Just the thought of going back there filled Elena with a foreboding dread that was all consuming.

"That's in three days" she hissed.

"I_ know_" he said darkly, she looked up at him aghast, mouth open in disbelief.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, silently wishing for him to have the answers, for him to make this all ok because only he could understand what it had been like the last time. The last time Katherine had taken her; the last time they'd been standing in a graveyard their lives in her maniacal hands. He shook his head slightly, hating the fact that she looked so lost.

"I don't know" he said quietly, not missing the way her lip quivered. He took her head in his hands "We'll think of something" he continued, her lips parted slightly and she took a breath calming her nerves.

She wasn't stupid and she wasn't going to give herself false hope, but she was struck by how comforting a simple sentence from him could be. More comforting that a sugar-coated white lie, the ones that Stefan always told her when things were going from bad to worse. The ones that made her feel like a child, a child that wasn't allowed to understand what was going on around her – even if it directly concerned her.

She nodded her head slightly, swallowing and forcing herself to calm down. Panicking wasn't going to help any of them; no it would only get them killed faster.

"Ok" she whispered, he pursed his lips, clenched his jaw and nodded ever so slightly in response. Dropping his hands, both of them immediately missing the comfort that the physical contact brought.

Elena was suddenly struck by the overwhelming urge to throw her arms around him; to hold him close and forget about everything else. To lose herself in the familiarity of him, in her constant; with no regard to the consequences because after all, none of it would matter – in three days time there was a very probable likelihood that they would all be dead. But she could sense the walls closing in on him, could sense him making that choice, the one that would turn off any potential feelings that might overwhelm him.

He stepped away from her slightly, warning her off with his eyes almost as if he _knew_ what she was thinking; what she wanted to do. She opened her mouth to say something – desperate to stop him from putting distance between them but he cut her off.

"It's late, you should get some rest" he instructed, his face slipping half into the shadows.

"Wait!" she began but it was useless. There was a gust of wind that blew the tendrils of hair from her face and then he was gone. Vanished back into the night. She let out a sound that was somewhere between a frustrated cry and a sob; the energy seeping from her bones as she allowed herself to slump against his closed bedroom door coming to a rest when she met the floor; shut out – again.


	11. Chapter 11

***flails* all of your reviews are so amazing - Thank you so much! To clear some things up: Yes. Katherine knows that Elena was faking being compelled - Damon hasn't told Elena this because it is the ONLY advantage that they currently have against Katherine. That's what Isobel meant when she talked about leverage, as far as Katherine is concerned she has all of the details about their plan and she also knows that Damon, Elena, Stefan, Jeremy and Alaric know that she switched the vervain necklace. However if Damon were to inform Elena A) she would panic and B) she would want to take the replica necklace off and if Katherine saw that the fake was missing, she would know that one of them must have figured out that she'd decided to play along with Elena that night in an effort to lull them all into a false sense of security. I hope this makes sense, I realise that my explanation is a little confusing D: Onto the next chapter! **

Damon didn't return that night, Elena knew because she'd decided to sit and wait for him to return; she was stubborn and she wasn't done with their conversation. Of course she didn't expect him to stand there and purge his feelings with some sappy and misguided declarations of love - that wasn't him. But she didn't know how much longer she could take the tension, didn't know how much longer she could hold her tongue or resist the temptation to throw her arms around him and not let go.

She estimated that she'd been sitting there for a good hour and a half before she heard soft footsteps making their way towards her. She looked up to see Stefan - good, sweet Stefan and she was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. His expression was one of concern as he came to stand before her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, crouching so that he could make eye contact with her, tucking her hair behind her ear so that he could better see her face. He listened intently as she relayed the information to him a huge weight settling upon his chest as he took her words in. Katherine - that ominous noun, he'd yet to come face to face with her since her return and he had to admit that he was scared. He was scared because unlike Damon he hadn't really acknowledged what she'd done to them. He'd convinced himself that whatever love he'd felt towards her had been a direct consequence of her compulsion; he desperately wanted to believe that, yet some small forgotten part of him - the part that relished in the destructive nature of their relationship told him that, that just wasn't the case.

On some level he had really, genuinely loved Katherine, he would have done anything for her; he'd _died_ for her, they both had and for the first fifty or so years of his undead life - he'd mourned her. Mourned her in the way that Damon did; by killing - relishing in the destruction because if his love was lost, well the world just wasn't worth saving. Wasn't worth caring about or preserving. That had been before he'd rediscovered his humanity, before he'd turned that switch on, hopefully for good. That was before he'd began his long and arduous repentance for his sins. Before he'd convinced himself that he was a different person and those things and those feelings had only been there because of what he had become.

And then of course there was Elena; some form of a cruel cosmic joke because he just hadn't been able to stay away and at first; it had been_ purely_ because she looked like Katherine. He'd been enamored with her, consumed with the need to _know_ her. Fully aware that he'd been taking his first treacherous steps down a very steep and slippery slope - he should have left well enough alone, just another thing to add to his inconceivably long list of selfish actions because the minute he'd enrolled in that high school he'd known; known that she would eventually find out his secret, that she'd be drawn into his world of pain and death. That her life would forever be altered because of it and at the time, those misgivings just hadn't been enough to ward him off.

"I'm so sorry Elena" he whispered, his heart breaking as he said the words. She shook her head and sat up slightly grabbing his forearm to stop him from running away.

"What do you mean? You didn't do anything" she soothed, utterly confused because she could see the anguish in his eyes.

"I should _never_ have brought you into this life, it's my fault" he said.

"What? _No!_ - I wanted this, I wanted you. I love you" she declared desperately trying to make him see sense. He shook his head.

"You love the _idea_ of me; the _idea_ of us" he spoke softly, convinced that this was the only way; the only way to keep her safe. He and Damon both knew what Katherine wanted and she wouldn't stop until she had it. Until she had them both again, just like she'd always planned and as long as Elena was involved with the both of them, she would _always_ be in danger.

"How can you say that!" she whispered, tears brimming as she felt her heart literally ripping with every passing second. He wasn't seriously doing this? Right now? She knew that they had problems and that they'd been growing distant but that still didn't mean that she was ready to let go, ready to give up on them.

"After everything we've been through! I _love_ you!" she continued, latching onto her anger because it was something that she could focus on. He stroked her face tenderly, willing her to understand why he had to do this; that he had to keep her safe and that he should have done this a long, long time ago. Before they became irrevocably linked.

"And I love _you_ Elena; more than you know or understand... and that's why I have to let you go" he whispered, his voice wavering treacherously. It was her turn to shake her head as she moved so that she was kneeling, her hands holding onto both of his forearms as he held her head in his, thumbs caressing her wet cheeks.

"Don't! Don't do this! Please Stefan, I need you..." she pleaded her voice breaking. He closed his eyes briefly as a fresh wave of pain engulfed him suffocating his heart. When he opened his eyes again she saw the determination in the off green orbs and it took he breath away because it was in that moment that she realised; he was really going to do this, he was really giving up on them, and in a way she realised that she wasn't as surprised as she thought she was. She wasn't because on some level she knew that they couldn't go on like they had been. Something had to give.

Since founders day they'd slowly almost imperceptibly been falling apart and the incident just one month ago had only succeeded in accelerating their inevitable demise. In drawing attention to cracks in their relationship, to her un-identified feelings for Damon. She wasn't surprised, no. But that didn't mean that it hurt any less, didn't mean that she wanted it to happen. He saw as the change came over her, as she finally seemed to start accepting what he was saying and he took a deep breath before leaning forwards slowly and placing a chaste kiss upon her lips.

She closed her eyes, committing the feel of his lips on hers to memory, the smell of his cologne, the feel of his hands on her face. Her eyes remained closed as she heard him speak.

"I love you" he said, observing her features, stroking her silky smooth hair once more before letting his hands fall to his sides. She opened her eyes slowly, a few more tears falling freely and his hands practically itched with the need to brush them away. Not anymore; that was no longer his right and he gave her one last saddened look before he walked back to his bedroom, slowly. Feeling her eyes burning into the back of his head with every step. It was better this way, he told himself. It's the _only_ way.

Damon knocked on the door loudly, bracing himself to face probably his biggest and most avid hater in Mystic Falls; Bonnie. He listened as the sound of footsteps could be heard before the heavy door opened to reveal her tanned skin. As soon as Bonnie realised who was standing on her door step she pushed at the door to slam it shut again.

"_Ah, ah, ah_" Damon chided, thrusting a crowbar into the space between the door and the doorframe delighting as the wood splintered slightly thanks to the force she'd put into closing it. He smirked triumphantly at her as the door creaked in protest, bouncing back revealing her mortified face again. He may not have been invited in, but that didn't stop him from using his initiative to keep the door open.

"That's not very nice now, is it?" he spoke menacingly, his eyes piercing and intense as he met her challenging stare.

"What do you want?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and jutting her hip to she side with an attitude that just didn't suit her.

"Katherine; she wants to meet with Elena, Stefan and I in the cemetery and we all know how that went down last time" he said getting straight to the point. She shook her head.

"Forget it, I'm not helping you again" she said, trying unsuccessfully to close the door on him again. He clenched his jaw and took a calming breath - as if she was going to be able to shut him out; a vampire with in human strength, god she was stupid he thought.

"You know; I'm starting to think that you_ want_ Elena to die" he said, his face showing genuine disgust at her blatant disregard for her supposed best friends life.

"I told Stefan in no un-certain terms on founders day that I want _nothing_ to do with you; with vampires... Elena made her choice" she said finally giving up on trying to work around the metal crowbar.

"Right; _boo-hoo, my life is so hard now that grams is dead that I can't see past myself and my misplaced vengeance to be there for my best friend when she needs me_; I mean stop me when you think I'm hitting the mark" he said, anger rolling off, of him in waves. Her expression became infuriated and she dropped her arms clenching her fists in an effort to control it.

"I know what you did to that girl last night Damon!" she exclaimed, disregarding his taunts, fixing him with a defiant gaze. He scoffed at her, infuriated with her persistence.

"What do you want? _A prize_?" he spat bitterly, inclining his head to the side in disbelief; she was a piece of work - and that was putting it lightly.

"Look; I don't like you and you don't like me and that's just the way it goes" he chided in a sing song voice letting the words wash over her in a patronizing tone as he inched his face towards hers; getting as close as the invisible barrier would allow.

"But the fact of the matter remains; I'm stronger than you. You may have perfected you're little - party tricks and your _hocus pocus_, but I have over a century on you. You're alive right now because Elena cares about you - despite the fact that you betrayed her, and that is the only reason that I haven't ripped your pretty little head from your neck - _yet_" he hissed genuinely pissed off. He was done with indulging her delusions of power; sure she had some measurable ability but he'd seen it all before and he was tired of it.

She looked indignant, mortified and a little scared. She looked like she was fighting back tears and he mentally congratulated himself for eliciting his intended reaction from her. Took a victory in seeing the hurt in her eyes. He straightened up a little his stance relaxing because he could tell that he'd won this battle.

"Now that we're clear; are you going to help us or not - because you're _wasting, my, time_" he spoke accentuating his point with every languid word. She took a shaky breath failing to control her wildly beating heart.

"Step away from me" she said through gritted teeth and he considered for a moment before granting her space, letting the crowbar slip from it's position. He could give her that at least - as long as she just agreed to help them. He raised his eyebrows broadcasting his impatience and she fixed him with a glare, letting him know just how much she despised him; how much she loathed his very existence before coming to a decision.

"I'll help; but _only_ for Elena. If you happen to die in the cross fire - _so be it_" she said before slamming the door shut in his face. His nostrils flared with rage and he cursed his conscience, he cursed his feelings for Elena because a year ago; a year ago he would have just killed her to be done with her arrogance, once and for all. She was like a pesky little fly that somehow always managed to get away just before you crushed it. Well, he resolved - I will crush you. One way or another. He thought before slinking away letting the crowbar clatter jarringly on her front steps. He smirked mercilessly when his keen hearing picked up her rapid heart rate and the unmistakable sound of tears. Another job accomplished, he thought as he made his way back to his car jumping into the open top and driving away at obnoxious speed.

Elena was sitting cross legged on the sofa, looking at the burned, charred remains of logs. It was very fitting she thought her mind still playing the events of the previous night over and over. She sighed finally giving up on tapping her pen idly against a blank page of her journal. It had been that way for the past hour as she'd tried to put the words down, tried to make them come out but they just wouldn't. She didn't know where to start. She was suddenly struck by how many things she still needed to experience; things that a young woman should experience, even if she survived she was pretty sure that she would never go to college, probably never get a real job and hold one down - not whilst Stefan and Damon were in her life. She would never be normal again. And she wasn't sure if she even wanted to be.

Suddenly she snatched up the pen again scribbling furiously on the page as the words finally came to her, a list of the things that she did want to do; the things that she needed to say to people so that she wouldn't have too many regrets walking into that graveyard. She didn't care if she was being melodramatic - didn't care if her fear was causing her to over react but for some reason her gut was telling her to do it. Telling her to start making amends and reaching out to those people that she cared about because she may never have another chance.

She was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and she shut her journal quickly, turning her head waiting to see who it was. Damon emerged sauntering into the room already shrugging his leather jacket off. He paused momentarily when he saw her sitting there; he was fairly surprised that she wasn't out doing something with Stefan, or out running errands. She didn't usually stay in the house during the day. He quirked his head slightly before shrugging it off continuing on his path to his trusty stash of alcohol.

"Want one?" he asked, pulling a glass stopper from a bottle of bourbon, the sound of the liquid pouring into a waiting glass. She only took a moment to think; what the hell, she might never make it to 21 she may as well enjoy the little time that she had left, besides it might help to settle her nerves.

"Sure" she said, un-crossing her legs. His head snapped up in surprise his eyes dancing with amusement and intrigue. He didn't miss a beat and pulled over another glass filling it generously, taking a glass in each hand and joining her on the large leather couch. She accepted it wordlessly, eying it's contents before sniffing it it; a grimace spreading across her features because the strength of it caused her eyes to water. He smirked at her raising his eyebrow waiting for her to take a sip.

Elena did so, forcing herself to swallow it; the burn was like nothing she'd ever experienced before and she found herself spluttering against her will. Damon erupted with laughter, knocking back his share with two large gulps as she looked at him her expression incredulous.

"Urgh, how do you drink that stuff!" she asked, her voice scratchy and horse.

"You get used to it, give it a few more years and you'll be a pro" he said, a genuine smile gracing his features as he regarded her. It reminded him of their time in Georgia; when she'd finally taken something just for herself - finally let lose and embraced her wilder side. Finally broken free of Stefan's expectations for just one day. She made a face at him in response and handed the glass back; there was no way she'd be able to stomach the rest of it.

He smirked taking it from her and draining it's contents easily. Now that he came to think of Stefan he realised that it was just the two of them in the house, generally they didn't like to leave Elena completely alone. Not with Katherine running around. Damon's expression fell into one of suspicion, something definitely wasn't right. It had been Stefan's idea after all to effectively baby sit her - even though there was no way Katherine could get into the house. They both realised that Katherine was smart enough to find away to draw Elena out, to force her to leave the protection that the house provided. He threw one arm across the back of the couch comfortably before cocking his head slightly; scrutinizing her.

"_So_, Elena. Where exactly is my loathsome little brother?" he asked, not missing the way her face fell at the mention of him. It piqued his curiosity immensely.

"I don't know" she said quietly, refusing to make eye contact with him once again becoming entranced with the non-existent fire.

"Trouble in paradise?" he teased his favourite smirk gracing his features. She stiffened measurably, swallowing back the emotion that had become lodged somewhere in the vicinity of her throat.

"Actually, Stefan and I aren't together anymore" came her small reply, she was fighting hard to keep her expression emotionless, her tone detached. His face deadpanned before registering absolute shock, had he heard her correctly?

"_What_?" he blurted before he could stop himself, letting his arm drop from it's resting place and pitching forwards to better see her expression. Her head snapped up her eyes meeting his confused gaze.

"We broke up" she repeated slowly. This wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting; well she wasn't really sure what exactly she'd had in mind when imagining this moment but the genuine sense of... concern? That he seemed to be displaying certainly hadn't even made the list. His eyebrows were furrowed in a deep frown and his face set in a grim expression.

"Why?" he asked. Sure he'd noticed that they hadn't been as blissfully happy as they usually were, he'd noticed and he'd been thankful for it because frankly it made him sick - but that didn't mean that he'd been expecting this. He knew his brother, and he knew that he would never just, give up on Elena. She frowned slightly taking a moment to think of an appropriate response because she herself wasn't even sure why he'd said the things he had. She shook her head her lips parting to try and form a response but the words just kept failing her.

"He uhh - He just said that he had to let me go..." she eventually said. Repeating the words caused nothing but pain and she had to take a moment to compose herself before looking back at Damon to see his expression. When she eventually did it caused her heart to stop in her chest because he looked absolutely horrified.

"What, what is it - What's wrong!" she asked desperately, moving closer to him urging him to just spit whatever it was out and be done with it. Damon shook his head incredulously.

"_Son of a bitch_" he muttered under his breath, standing abruptly as if he hadn't even heard her. He should have known that he might do something like this! God he was so stupid, why hadn't he seen this coming - it was typical Stefan martyr-type bullshit! Elena stood quickly, grabbing his jacket forcing him to pay attention to her. To look at her.

"Damon?" she repeated her eyes searching his desperately - as if she would be able to read the answer within the depth of his heartbreakingly beautiful eyes.

"He's gone after Katherine" was all he said, an ominous expression on his face and the words made her stop. Her heart, her breathing, her movement, any thoughts that she may have been having - stopped; because in that moment she was frozen. She didn't know what to do or how to react... all she knew was that those words _terrified _her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks again for all of your awesome reviews, they really make writing this worth while! Here's the next chapter :) Some of you were annoyed with Stefan I hope this explains why he chose to do what he did... **

Stefan stepped out into the cemetery, wet grass clinging to his boots as he strode lightly through the mass of headstones. He knew what needed to be done, it was so ironic – here he was about to make a deal with the devil when he was a demon himself; a pawn in her diabolical game. He _hated_ her so completely now, his heart was torn and bleeding because he'd just given up on his one ray of sunshine, he'd had to let her go. It was the only way to make sure that she had the best chance of leading a full and somewhat normal life. Katherine was here for _them _and Elena would just end up as collateral damage. Katherine would use her to hurt _them _– his brother and he because she knew that they would do anything to protect her, that they were loyal to her and she loathed it – she mourned that loss of adoration and devotion but she supposed it was her punishment for hurting them so.

Stefan pressed on, knowing that she'd be watching – she was _always_ watching he thought and sure enough as his feet lead him to the area in which Elena and Damon had been buried she showed herself. Appearing before him in a flash her eyes wicked and gleaming with excitement.

"Well isn't this an interesting turn of events?" she purred curiously, her lips quirking at the corners slightly.

Stefan clenched his jaw regarding her; she was wearing black: jeans, a form fitting shirt and a simple leather jacket. Her hair, he noticed she'd straightened. And it un-nerved him to the core because she looked more like Elena in that moment than she _ever_ had before.

"Katherine" he greeted, his eyes tracking her movements as she circled him, probably trying to determine for herself if he'd truly come alone or not. Once she was satisfied she took a breath tilting her head to the side lost in the nostalgia of him – _just like old times._ She thought.

"What brings you to my door Stefan? I do believe I said we would meet on Friday. What made you defy me?" She probed her tone a mixture of curiosity and authority with just a hint of detectable anger. Anger because she liked to be in control, he_ knew_ that and he _shouldn't_ have come.

"I want to offer you a trade" he said, keeping his tone: his expression stoic. She blinked and scoffed at him slightly.

"A _trade_?" She mused, rolling her eyes at the predictableness of it. Already knew that he was here under some misguided and twisted notion of love, love for Elena.

"You can have me and Damon. Both of us just, like you planned but under one condition: you leave Elena out of this" he spoke inching forwards slightly "You let her go – she has _nothing_ to do with us, with what happened" he stated. And she did laugh then, it was maniacal – aloof. It never reached her eyes and he wondered if it ever had. If she'd ever been capable of_ real_ emotion. If she'd always been this detached.

"Oh Stefan" she sighed sweetly – so deceptive and deadly easing towards him as she stroked one hand tenderly down his face examining him in the process.

"You always were so _noble_" she chided, her fingers no longer caressing. No. Instead they probed, grabbing his chin roughly with a strength that her form just shouldn't have been able to posses as she forced his face to meet hers, her cool breath mingling with his. There would be no room for misunderstanding. Not this time.

"I'm disappointed in you" she spat her grip on him tightening ever so slightly as she stepped closer so that their bodies were pressed tightly together.

"All of these years and you never_ once_ tried to find me. Never tried to help your brother even though HE was still searching. I thought you were _loyal_. I thought you _loved_ me! But no – _no_ you went ahead and replaced me didn't you? You just accepted the fact that I was doomed to rot in a tomb for an eternity – you _betrayed_ me" she ranted, her gaze cool and unfathomably cruel. How he'd never noticed the inherit evil she embodied was beyond him as he felt all of his memories, those sweet memories of their love shatter around him.

"You_ lied_ to us! You tore us apart – he's my_ brother_ and you made us hate each other!" he raged, all of the pain and suffering engulfing him in one fell swoop. He watched as she shook her head smiling softly – so softly and the juxtaposition of what she truly was proved too much in that moment. It tugged at some inner part of him. It_ hurt_.

"No Stefan" she admonished tenderly – as if he were a young child, her voice sickly sweet as she continued; as she delivered the words that _broke_ him.

"You did that _all_ by yourself" she said sadly, tilting her head to the side as she watched the myriad of emotion wash over him.

"You're the one who forced Damon to feed" she continued darkly, delighting as his eyes widened in shock a narcissistic grin engulfing her features.

"_Yes_" she purred a soft laugh escaping her lips "I was there that night" she answered before he'd even been able to get the words out himself.

"I _watched_ you kill your father. I watched as you _drained_ him. I saw the way you _decimated _his body; your family name… it was…" She paused and inhaled deeply, almost as if she were being swept away by the immense satisfaction that the memory brought her. "Powerful" she finally chose, her hooded eyes opening with a clarity that sent chills throughout his body. _How_ had he _ever_ loved a creature as cruel and as selfish as she?

"What have you _done_ to yourself Stefan?" she continued taunting him, voicing the words that she _knew_ were running through his mind. She got off on the power; on the utter despair she could smell emanating from him. There was no rush like it in the world and she remembered then just why she had been so captivated with the two of them. The two Salvatore brothers - _so_ different from each other yet essentially the same; because in the end, it had all come down to one thing – the love of one woman… Man's one true weakness.

"You're un-recognisable" she hissed, shoving him away from her forcefully. He just stood there – it was the only thing he_ could_ do as the words echoed and rebated inside of his head; he was so lost in-fact that he was taken completely by surprise by the next words to fall from her treacherous lips…

"_Come out, come out wherever you are_" she sang laughing mercilessly into the frigid night air. No more than a second later Damon emerged from behind a full sized tomb monument, his expression cold and detached. She smiled at him slowly, tilting her head to the side as she regarded him.

"_Ah,_ there you are – I was wondering when you'd show up" she cooed taking in his handsome features. That chiseled jaw line unchanged from the very day she'd last carressed it.

He pursed his lips beginning to circle her as she moved closer slightly, mimicking his actions. It was like some twisted dance as they each tested the water, each looking for that opening, for the moment when the others guard would be lifted: just a fraction...

"You know me, I always did like to make an entrance" he quipped his eyes dancing with mirth, with pure and unadulterated hatred. She grinned and laughed softly.

"That you did my _lover_" she said the excitement growing in her bones. She always had liked him best – secretly. Just that little bit more because with him, with him it was unpredictable. With him it was wild and all consuming and demanding; with him there had been pure _excitement_ every time they'd met. Every stolen kiss they'd shared.

"I'm a little hurt I must say that you didn't invite me to this little… _reunion_" he continued, sparing one quick look at his crestfallen brother before diverting his attention back to Katherine.

"Oh it wasn't planned; I assure you" she said, stopping in her tracks – giving up on circling him, giving up on assessing what he had planned. Instead she turned back to Stefan as he brooded silently and she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Some things… Some things would never change.

"Come; why don't you join us" she asked turning her head back to Damon, holding out her hand to him. He took a moment, took a moment to _seriously _consider what she was offering him. He let his face fill with emotion; let himself look like the lost and love sick puppy that she _wanted_ him to be, he portrayed a sense of utter confusion as if he were seriously debating his answer within his mind – he watched with sheer delight taking a small triumph as her features danced with anticipation because she was falling for it. And then he allowed a huge and smug smile to envelope his face; he laughed at her. He laughed harshly and it was _cruel. _

"_Go to hell Katherine_" he spat, his tone stronger and more deadly than it had ever been as he allowed those words to fill with utter contempt. There was a split second where her face registered genuine shock before she dropped her hand her features dissolving in a flash into their demonic state and she let out a primal scream of frustration before she charged at him. Barrelling into his body sending them both flying into the stone monument behind them.

"NOW" came a far cry from the distance and then; all hell broke lose.

Stefan stood watching in utter dismay as two more figures blurred forth, joining the fight. Jeremy, Isobel and Damon vs Katherine. It was like nothing he had ever whitnessed in his long and arduous years: there were deep tearing noises as Earth and stone were ripped from their proper place. As figure after blurred figure was thrown into them - the sound of tearing flesh and broken bones. Snarls; the impact of fits against delicate skin.

He was only vaguely aware as he watched Katherine rip a root from the ground plunging it deep into Damon's side; he grimaced, falterred for a second but nothing could deter him as he continued on his rampage..._ Nothing_. He'd never wanted to destroy something so much in his life. He'd never been so angry, never allowed that switch to change so completely because the emotion, the overwhelming love and hate that he held for Katherine was his strength. It was what was driving him to keep attacking, he wanted to make her _hurt. _He wanted to do to her what she had done to him, he wanted to tear her seam from seam; he craved her anguish, her screams of complete agony because she'd managed to destroy him so completely with only her bare hands. With soft carresses and whispred promises. He wanted to extinguish her. He wanted her _gone_ - once and for all. To be free of her. They always said there was a fine line between love and hate...

Stefan didn't know how exactly but Alaric had joined then, snapping him from his stunned repreave by thrusting a stake into his palm, grabbing him roughly by the lapels of his jacket to shake sesne into him. To force him into action.

"Go!" He shouted, a gun filled with vervain laced wooden bullets in his hand as he whirled around trying desperately to get a clear shot. And then Stefan leapt into action, seeing an opening and taking it. He'd do this for her, for Elena... For them. For his brother, for his father... He'd do this because it needed to be done. He surged forwards plunging the stake into the first part of her he'd managed to find. Her thigh and she howled in pain. How had she not sensed their presence! How had she allowed them to get the best of her! _Isobel_! How had she not sensed her coming betrayal!

And for the first time in over three centuries Katherine felt the tiniest tinge of panic because she was wounded, vervain was coursing through the veins near the gaping wound in her thigh and she was losing. She was losing to four vampires that were practically newborns compared to her and a human with a vervain loaded gun. She snarled re-doubling her efforts sinking her teeth into anything she came into contact with; Damon's arm, Jeremy's face… Isobel's shoulder and she tore at them. Making sure to do as much damage as she possibly could.

And it was in that moment that Elena finally arrived, body heaving with exhertation because she'd just sprinted as fast as she possibly could from her car. Freshly sprung from captivity. She'd been absolutley enraged when he'd insisted that she would not be joining him on his rescue mission. They'd been over this before there was no way he could keep her from following him... Or so she had thought.

After less than a minute of arguing he'd made the decision, it was the only way to keep her safe, to protect her so that he could completely devote his attention and efforts into finding Stefan and Katherine. Elena had kicked and screamed as he lifted her easily not even blinking as she'd struggled within his sturdy grip. He'd taken her swiftly to the basement dropping her unceremoniously onto the damp earth before sliding the bolt across the door his eye's silently conveying that she needed to understand - that he was doing this to keep her alive. She'd pleaded with him, voice thick with barely contained emotion.

"Please Damon!" She'd panted standing quickly and slamming herself against the door as he regarded her from the other side of the bars. He'd said nothing but it was in his eyes as she curled her hands around the cool bars of the viewing grate.

"What if you die?" She'd whispered leaving the mention of his brother unspoken between them because she knew that wouldn't help her case... Her last ditch attempt at getting him to let her out, to let her follow him. To let her go with him to help Stefan and because she was scared for him, she was scared for them all…

"Then I'll tell someone that you're here before I do" he'd answered easily knowing that, _that _hadn't been what she was trying to say. It hadn't been why she'd said it and he watched her expression fall and he'd vanished before she could get words out. He'd vanished because he was sure that she would have said something that would have changed everything; and he wasn't ready for that. He couldn't think about that not when he was about to come face to face with his long lost love again.

Elena came to a grinding halt as she surveyed the carnage before her, so many tombstone's knocked and smashed, the ground muddy and torn, the blurred figures of what she assumed were Damon, Stefan, Jeremy and was that _Isobel_ she saw! Each attacking Katherine relentlessly. The sound and vision of it was terrifying and she gasped because what she was whitnessing was worse than she ever could have imagined.

"Oh god" she'd uttered unaware of how her actions would change things. It had only taken those two words whispered unwittingly into the night air to penetrate the thick haze of destruction surrounding Damon. To make him falter for just a fraction of a second as he'd realised that somehow that stupid, stubborn girl with the death wish had managed to break out - any other time he would have admired for her resourcefulness, but today, today it came at the worst possible moment. His momentary distraction had been the only leverage Katherine had needed and suddenly she had managed to throw everyone else away from her with a savage cry and her teeth had devled into the hollow of his throat ripping expertly at his flesh.

"NO!" Elena screamed running forwards towards them only to be met by Bonnie's solid form, stopping her in her tracks. She grabbed at her wildy.

"Do something! Help him!" She pleaded not caring that her tone had decended into complete hysteria. Bonnie only shook her head her expression stern and unwavering.

"Not this time" she regretfully whispered understanding as Elena had gazed at her with utter disbelief before she'd grown angry and tried to pass her again.

"Let me GO!" She struggled, hitting her wherever she could make contact. Shocked at the strenth of her because Bonnie had never been the strong one.

"No, you'll get yourself killed!" She pressed on, once again taking the brunt of Elena's shove and those words coming from her, made her beyond angry. She felt possesed by a rage that' shook her to the core and made her body tremble as she exploaded.

"GET OFF OF ME" she screamed putting her whole weight into one last ditch attempt at pushing the young witch away from her and finally it worked sending her tumbling to the ground. She didn't even spare Bonnie a glance before running purposefully towards Katherine. Alaric who had finally been able to get a clean shot fired the gun, multiple rounds deploying cleanly into the flesh of her back as she continued to attack Damon.

Jeremy was wounded, badly laying in a pool of his own blood, barely any part of his skin unscathed. Isobel and Stefan were only fairing slightly better as they scrambled to get Katherine away from Damon with little sucess. The blood was making her stronger, repairing her wounds and fighting the vervain and Elena made up her mind in that second. She knew what had to be done.

"Katherine!" she screamed, hoping against hope that the momentary distraction would provide the window that they needed to get the job done. To finish her once and for all… She snapped her head up eye's bloodshot fangs protruding as Damon's blood dripped from them, coating her entire face thickly. Elena swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat and held her breath. Damon's hand immediately went to his neck as he tried unsuccessfully to stop his blood flowing out of the gaping wound. He spluttered coughing as it flooded his gullet and lungs, heard the gurgle as he tried to take a breath. As he tried to fight the coming darkness.

Alaric shot relentlessly at her until all of his rounds were spent, Katherine had jerked backwards with each shot, she'd grimaced and even cried out in pain as the wood and the vervain entered her but she never stopped, never gave up as she zeroed in on Elena. Her doppelganger; the reason that her boys no longer loved her…

She growled and blurred forwards as fast as her wounded body would allow only to stop suddenly as Damon's hand encircled her ankle dragging her back towards him with a strength that she hadn't known he could posses. She practically hissed at him as he made one last final attempt at getting to her, as he clawed at her with both hands that were broken and coated in mud and blood.

"Damon!" Stefan shouted meeting his brothers gaze and in less than a second he had tossed the stake at him, hoping against hope that his brother would be strong enough to catch it and thankfully, thankfully Damon's slick hands caught it deftly and he had plunged it without a second thought – with not even a hundredth of deliberation into Katherine's chest.


	13. Chapter 13

**Here it is guys, I'm sorry about the cliff hanger last chapter, I just couldn't resist hehe :D I'm blown away by the response to the last chapter so thank you all! This one is long and it's angsty so prepare yourselves! Oh and I promise everything WILL be explained, how Elena escaped etc, etc... Just be patient, I felt that the emotions needed to be addressed first so without further ado, the next update: **

Elena would never forget those agonizingly slow seconds as she waited with baited breath for Katherine's face to turn an ashen shade of grey, to watch as the life literally seeped out of her skin. Damon had her pinned beneath him, one hand bracing himself by the side of her face, the other still holding the stake in place his expression so tormented, so bedraggled and broken as he stared into the eyes of the woman he had loved for over a century, as he watched her take one last startled gasp, her eyes meeting his desperately.

He would never forget that look… that one final look. So laden with unspoken words and unfathomable emotion, it was as if the stake had finally been the weapon that was able to stop her in her tracks, that was able to penetrate her years of hatred and destruction because Damon had _seen_ the precise moment where she'd lost control of that switch, he saw for the first time since meeting her, _humanity_. And it had stolen every piece of resolve and anger from him because he _never_ would have expected it. Not from her. He would never have expected to see true fear and pain borne of a betrayal so deep that it physically _hurt_ you to grace her features. Katherine didn't have emotions, and as her last parting gift, her last mockery of him he was reminded of the fact that even _she_ had been human… once. He felt part of him die too then… a part of him that he didn't even _know_ he had – all because of that one final look. And he watched as the last air that would ever escape her chest drained into the night air, her head lolling slowly to the side as veins erupted across her skin, as it lost it's golden hue turning stone grey. Cold. As cold as she had been inside.

Elena watched as he slumped over, laying unceremoniously by Katherine's side as his right hand weakly fought to return to it's place by the gaping wound in his neck, trying to stanch the bleeding. She watched, as he was barely able to apply the slightest pressure to it, completely and utterly spent, emotionally and physically. She would never be able to forget. _Never_. She would never be able to un-see the devastating expression he wore, never be able to get the image of his broken and bleeding body from her mind because his neck,_ literally_ looked as if someone had gone at it with a blunt chainsaw. As if someone had tried to behead him and given up half way through, her first sob escaped her lips, raspy and un-noticed as she hurried forwards dropping carelessly beside him, the mud and blood coating her clothes as she'd grabbed his face in earnest.

Her breaths came out as sharp short gasps as her mouth worked in fish like motions to try and form words. To try and respond to what she was seeing when all she wanted to do was scream bloodcurdling screams that would explain to everyone just how _much_ she was hurting inside. How much her heart was breaking, how scared and alone she felt. How much she hated the world in this moment for being so un-relentlessly cruel to her.

"_Damon"_ she barely breathed, covering the wound with her own shaking hands as she whipped her gaze around frantically looking for anything, _anything_ that might help. He needed blood and she couldn't give it to him. God she whished that she could, she would have slit her own wrists in that moment just to give him what he so desperately needed; but she couldn't. She _couldn't_ because he'd been feeding her vervain-laced cookies everyday to keep her safe. The irony of it almost made her laugh bitterly - almost but not quite.

"_Oh my god_" Alaric muttered as he skidded on his knees to a halt beside them both, taking in the carnage. Elena's gaze snapped up to him her appearance every bit as lost and bedraggled as she truly felt, her eye's wide and pleading.

"He needs blood, _please_, you have to give him your blood" she blurted frantically and his expression morphed into one of true sorrow as he delivered the words that would only serve to further devastate her.

"I can't I've had vervain" he explained shaking his head as the shock of the situation enveloped him, he felt his chest pinch as her features fell, her lip quivering and her eyes filling helplessly as another breathy sob escaped her lips and she adjusted her hands, trying to stop the never ending sensation of Damon's warm blood oozing between her _too_-thin fingers. Her eye's had settled on his then, and it was just another terrifying image to add to the list of things she _never_ whished to see again.

His gaze was too still; too un-focused as if he were looking but not really _seeing _and it broke her heart because they weren't meant to be like that; dull and lifeless, he was anything _but_ lifeless and the injustice of it was making her suffocate. It was making her heart pound violently in her chest with protest…

Bonnie stood shakily to her feet her eyes wide and startled as she looked at the after effects of the epic battle that had ended just one minute ago. Isobel was slumped against a wonky gravestone, panting as her wounds slowly, _slowly_ began to heal over, her face showing how much the fight had taken out of her; from all of them. Stefan whose arm was hanging limply by his side at an awkward angle, chunks torn out of it was pulling Jeremy up, Jeremy who seemed to be in the worst shape… after Damon that was. And what she saw, she had to admit moved even _her_ to the point of tears and she felt them pooling in her eyes because she'd never seen her best friend look so desperate and afraid in her entire life.

Her feet had taken her of their own accord towards Katherine's carcass and Damon's soon to be one and looked at her friend then. _Really_ looked at her and she was overwhelmed with guilt because in her rage and pain she'd managed to ignore the fact that she was inflicting the same pain onto Elena right now, she had been for a while and Elena had never _once_ turned her back on her; despite everything she'd done and Bonnie realised in that moment that right now, right now this was bigger than Vampires and Witches. It was bigger than her pain over grams. She was a bad person and she needed to put this right…

"Bonnie" Elena sobbed desperately looking up at her when she noticed her presence.

"_Please_, I'm begging you – if you've _ever _even cared about me, even in the slightest, please_; help him"_ she cried, the tears pouring freely unbidden from her eyes. She didn't care; she didn't care in the_ slightest_ what she looked like in that moment; didn't care if it was undignified or desperate because she just couldn't let him die. She _couldn't _he was too important to her now; that insufferable big jerk was important to her and she didn't know what she would do if he suddenly ceased to impose himself upon her life. All she knew was that she _couldn't _let it happen…

"I can't let him die Bonnie" she gasped, the sobs wracking her tiny frame as her friend slowly knelt down a few tears escaping from her eyes as she extended her wrist…

"_Thank you" _Elena choked out; a relief so welcome flowing over her as she guided it to Damon's lips, imploring him to react, to drink. It had taken a moment but finally, _finally_ his features had changed, and his body's natural instinct to survive had taken over and his teeth had dug themselves into Bonnie's wrist of their own accord eliciting a sharp cry of pain from her. The seconds had dragged on and on as Elena waited with baited breath for the wound to show signs of closure – and slowly, ever so slowly it had, the bleeding had _finally _stopped and the skin had begun to thread itself together and as soon as it had started he'd broken away. Pushing Bonnie's wrist away from him as she'd slumped, Alaric catching her and holding her upright.

He groaned sitting upright an expression of shock on his face as he regarded Bonnie for a second, as he took in the precedence of what she'd just done for Elena and he hated to admit it, but for that she had won back his begrudging respect. He at least owed her some gratitude and he tried to convey that with a look and Bonnie gave the slightest, almost imperceptible nod before her attention was once again recaptured by Elena's triumphant cry.

"Thank you" she repeated, breathing deeply because suddenly the air seemed to have grown much richer, it seemed to be passing into her lungs again – she could _breathe_.

She scrambled to her feet, mimicking Damon's actions as he pulled himself up more carefully than he usually would have, there was still a sizeable gash running across his throat and he was _far_ from healed but he was _alive _and given everything it was more than either of them could have hoped for. His eyes had flickered up to hers and what he saw reflected in them took his breath away. He understood then that she_ really_ cared; whatever she felt towards him was_ real_ and for once she wasn't even _trying_ to hide it, not in the slightest. She took a shuddering breath as her eyes flooded again and her face crumpled before his eyes; all of the different emotions and sheer relief overwhelming her as she closed the distance between them engulfing him in a fierce embrace.

He stood. Numb. He stood as she buried her head into the ruined and dirty leather of his jacket, as her sobs shook them _both_ and he just didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to comfort her, didn't know if he wanted to… he didn't know anymore because he was still reeling from the shock of having actually _killed_ Katherine. They were both so different_, _he would _never_ confuse them, but right now he couldn't give Elena what she was searching for. He couldn't make himself wrap his arms around her even though part of him was screaming to do it. To finally take his chance at redemption, to finally accept that maybe, _maybe _it _could _happen to him. He couldn't because it was all just too much at once and he needed time. He needed time to process everything that he had just seen, everything that he'd done. He needed time and Elena deserved _more_ than what he could currently offer her but she didn't care. She'd take whatever she could get and that was why she continued to hold him the way she had the night of the tomb.

She held him for what felt like an eternity before she felt a hand on her back and she sniffed, her face blotched with sticky tears and her runny nose before pulling back ever so slightly, letting her arms fall but not stepping away from him to turn and face the owner of that hand.

"Jer" she breathed, reaching out to him and touching his face affectionately, he was pale and shaky like all of them covered in blood and muck but he was moving even if it was with the help of Stefan who was supporting him; one arm slung around his waist and his other arm holding Jeremy's wrist where his hand was hanging limply on the other side of his shoulder, his arm wrapping behind his neck.

Slowly Stefan passed him to Elena, letting her support his weight as she allowed him to lean upon her in the same manner than he had been on Stefan. She saw Stefan's troubled gaze as he stepped back slowly walking around them until he came to stand before Katherine's dead body… Elena watched and waited as Damon turned, regarding his brother silently, as they both stood on either side of the carcass just starring at it, neither of them quite believing what their eyes were relaying to them.

It was really done then, Stefan realised; as he took in the amount of Damage they'd actually been able to inflict upon her. Her skin was marred by gashes, her clothes torn slightly her body battered, the stake still protruding crudely from her chest and it made some part of him feel a deep sense of regret. A sense of guilt because love wasn't _supposed_ to end this way, it wasn't supposed to dissolve into hate. It wasn't supposed to leave you empty and bitter inside. He looked up at Damon silently, his eyes meeting his and for the first time in one hundred and forty six years they shared _meaningful_ communication. A look shared between two brothers who loathed each other and they both marvelled at the poeticism of it because of what it had taken for a small measure of forgiveness to be established between them, as they took the time to start feeling the appropriate level of closure because Katherine was _gone_. She was really gone this time and the weight surrounding Stefan's chest suddenly seemed just that little bit lighter.

Elena had huddled over to a relatively unscathed gravestone, letting Jeremy rest against it as Damon and Stefan had gathered Katherine up. Using their combined strength to lift her limp body shuffling her to the small clearing that she hadn't even noticed Alaric making. She wondered how she'd never noticed the can of gasoline and the rucksacks strewn across the floor and she frowned because it was awfully efficient of him to have had these things with him – given the fact that the rescue mission had been planned at such short notice… or had it? She thought. The confused frown deepening. Of course they'd have to get rid of the body she realised, that thought washing over her in one cold motion. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end because she was only seventeen, she shouldn't be witnessing such horror and death, it should still be foreign to her and she realised that somewhere in the past month it had become part of her routine – she'd gotten used to having it looming over her head day in day out.

She watched with morbid fascination as Damon pulled the cap off the gasoline easily, throwing it carelessly to the ground before pouring the liquid over her body, as if she were a ragdoll depositing the whole canister before he let that fall to the floor too, the sound muffled by the grass. She watched as Stefan knelt down, taking one last look at her face as he reached his hand out to touch the side of her cheek softly, the action lasting just a few seconds before he dropped it and stood again, giving Damon an almost imperceptible nod and suddenly the striking of a match could be heard and she watched entranced as the flame flickered and spluttered to life… watched as Damon let the match drop as if it were happening in slow motion as it fell, fell downwards; it's spark igniting the gasoline like an explosion before it had even reached it's destination and she gasped softly, the air being knocked from her lungs because Katherine's entire body had gone up in flames. It was _so_ fitting, such a powerful scene to be witnessing as the flames danced and reflected in Damon's glassy aquamarine orbs, the light casting handsome shadows across his already handsome face and her throat constricted painfully because he looked so lost. Lost and _alone_. They both did and it hurt her so much because she knew that she couldn't help either of them, not this time… this moment was for _them_. This moment was about things that she would _never _understand because it had been a different lifetime; one where she hadn't existed for both of them and it made Elena shiver yet she couldn't look away… no. All she did was stare watching them both like a hawk. She would _never_ forget, it was so poignant, so _fitting_ and it stole her breath from her lungs.

Some time later after the last remaining physical traces of Katherine's existence had literally and figuratively been lost to the nights wind they'd gathered their things wordlessly, each of them wearing dark and shell shocked expressions, just going through the motions of living as they'd made their way back to the Salvatore boarding house. Elena had immediately run to the fridge that she knew Damon kept stocked with emergency blood bags – and although he would never admit it a few litre bottles of animal blood, and had grabbed a handful of them bringing them to the grand room that connected to the wooden hallway of the vast building. She'd handed them wordlessly to Damon, Jeremy, Stefan and Isobel and watched as they'd each drained their contents easily. They didn't speak; there really wasn't anything that either of them could say…

Finally Bonnie had muttered something about needing to go home, asking if she'd be able to take a shower before leaving, muttered things about being covered in dirt and how it would draw attention to herself. Stefan had nodded softly saying "Of course" casting a glance at Elena who was sitting down, periodically shifting her attention from Jeremy who was laying across the expanse of one of the grand, floral couches sleeping to Damon, who had been standing completely still for the past 45 minutes, his back to them looking out of the window into the endlessly black night, before leading her upstairs to one of the many bathrooms.

Alaric had been sat at the dining table, his eyes tracking Isobel's movements. He still couldn't quite believe that she'd agreed to this, agreed to help them, it wasn't her prerogative and he was trying to determine what her agenda was. Stefan had returned a few moments later, on a mission. Intent on convincing Elena to at least follow Bonnie's lead and take a shower because she looked like hell, beautiful – but a mess. Mascara was stained along her cheeks from where she'd been crying, her hands were crusty with muddy blood her clothes fairing no better and her hair an unruly mess of tangles. He sighed walking over to her.

"You should go get cleaned up" he said kindly, giving her a small and reassuring smile. Her gaze that had resumed its position on her sleeping brother had travelled up to meet his slowly, in a daze. She was in shock and she frowned at him before turning to check on Damon who was unchanged. She blinked trying to shake the haze from her head, trying to find some clarity and had opened her mouth to speak but he cut her of.

"Go, they'll be ok. I promise" he said softly, his expression filled with tenderness and love as he gazed longingly at her. She closed her mouth and swallowed, standing stiffly.

"_Thank-you_" she whispered; _thank you for understanding. _For understanding why she was reluctant to leave them, Damon in particular. He smiled and nodded at her, watched as she made her way slowly to the stairs, looking back at him and his brother's stoic figure several times before she'd finally disappeared from view. He wondered then if he'd lost her forever because even though she didn't realise it yet he was pretty sure that tonight, tonight they'd passed the point of no return in regards to her feelings for his brother, and that thought no longer filled him with the rage that it once had. No. Just sadness because he'd always known that this day would come.

The water swirling around Elena's feet was stained with dirt, with the coppery tinge of dried blood and she'd been unable to do anything but watch it with curiosity as it tickled between her toes rushing along the porcelain bottom of the bathtub before draining away into nothingness slowly; she whished that she could do the same. And she'd sighed grabbing the nearest bottle of body wash that she'd laid her hands on depositing a generous helping into her hands and she'd frozen as it's aroma hit her nose. _Damon_. It smelled like Damon and suddenly the image of how he'd been laying half dead on that grass barrelled into her and she'd gasped dropping the tube suddenly. She hadn't wanted to cry again, but that had been all it had taken for it to become a reality again, for her to sink to her knees drawing them up to her chest as she cried in earnest at the trauma of it all. The water beating down on her head until it had run cold…

Eventually. Eventually she'd found the strength to stand, to pull herself out of the shower grabbing the large towel roughly shivering. She hadn't even made the conscious decision to use his bathroom; she'd found that her feet had just taken her there and she was afraid in that moment that she'd lost her mind. Nothing made sense anymore, the world had been tilted permanently on it's axis and she didn't know how to make it right again because she _should_ have been crying into Stefan's shoulder right about now. She should have been but she wasn't and she didn't want to. Not really. Not this time.

Isobel and Alaric had gone by the time she had made her way downstairs to the grand room again. Jeremy was still sleeping, Stefan was sat next to him quietly watching over him and he'd stood when he'd heard her enter. She smiled at him slightly before noticing that Damon was no longer standing by the window, her heart had slammed against her chest in a moment of sheer _terror_ that he'd left them, disappeared into the night to lick his wounds in private and it was broadcast all over her face. Stefan closed his eyes as a wave of fresh pain washed over him at the realisation of how _deeply_ she cared for his brother before he'd spoken, easing her fears.

"He's in the den" he explained, and she relaxed visibly her stance easing and then she stepped forwards slowly, wrapping her arms gently around him in a soft hug.

"I'm glad you're ok" was all she had said before stepping back far to soon for his liking, a sad smile on her face. He watched her walk away; let her go to his brother...

Elena took a deep breath steeling herself to face Damon again before she rounded the corner of the long hallway, the back of his head coming into view; he'd assumed his favourite position by the fire and he made no indication that he'd noticed her presence as she walked into the room slowly, rounding the edge of the brown leather sofa taking a seat next to him. He made no indication but Elena knew better, if he truly wanted to be alone he would have disappeared the moment he'd heard Stefan tell her where he was. His features were illuminated only by the orange glow emitting from the fire and it reminded her vividly of the cemetery, of watching Katherine's body burn and she shuddered.

He was as still as a statue as he sat contemplating his existence... what he'd done, replaying the events over and over and _over_, getting stuck every time he came back to Katherine's last breath – back to the sudden flash of humanity that he'd seen. It was taunting him, it wouldn't _stop_. He didn't know _what_ to do, so he chose to sit, to wait it out because by tomorrow he'd have more control, by tomorrow his walls would be rebuilt a thousand time's stronger because he was determined that he'd never let another thing in, not again. He was _done_. He was done with emotion – he was convinced of it and then he'd felt it… felt Elena's small and delicate hand encircling his firmly. Squeezing slightly – silently communicating that she was ready, she was done with _hiding, _with playing games. She was _here _and she wasn't about to leave and he'd had to swallow back the surge of overwhelming _feeling _that had swept over him, he'd actually had to _fight_ as his eye's had watered treacherously blinking rapidly his nostrils flaring as he'd tried to take a breath that would put him back in control. He felt like he was drowning, like he was being burned from the inside out because her comfort. Her pureness had killed what little self-restraint he'd had on that barely controlled switch and she'd opened the proverbial floodgates.

Elena did him the decency of looking away then, of starring at anything but his face because what she had seen had _broken_ her heart; her lips trembled as a few silent tears slid down her face her cheeks growing hot thanks to the effort she was putting into remaining still, into fighting against how tightly her throat was closing on her. It had only taken one solitary pool of liquid that had clung so gallantly to his long lashes finally losing the fight and falling slowly down his tormented features to _break_ her – to force her to look away because she couldn't watch this. It was _too_ much, and he wouldn't want her to see. He made no sound, no movement, said nothing - as multiple lifetimes of pain and regret purged themselves in the form of no more than a few dozen silently falling tears, but it was enough. It was enough and it was profound and Elena had squeezed his hand in a death grip because it was all she could offer him. It was all she could do and he allowed himself that one solitary moment of weakness and embraced it. He allowed her to sit with him, each of them starring defiantly into the fire their conjoined hands the only indication of how poignant this moment truly was. The only indication of what was happening between them. They stayed that way for hours, long after their tears had dried up, long after the fire had died plunging them both into darkness, long after the sun had finally risen signalling the birth of a new day - hands intertwined, unmoving on the sofa.


	14. Chapter 14

**Guys - your reviews from last chapter honestly mean the world to me! So many of them made me a little bit emotional because the feedback you are giving means so much to me, and it's all amazing I just don't know what to say or how to thank you all enough. *massive hugs to all of you* The answers are in this chapter, I hope that no one managed to figure them out, I've been leading up to this the whole time for the past few chapters, purposefully omitting little things and scene's so that no one clocked on and I hope it was worth it! Some of you were asking if the story is about to end soon... actually I have no plans to end it just yet! There are still so many scenes I'd like to put down so to speak, and Elena and Damon are still a long way from together at this point. I know you might be getting impatient for a Delena hook up but It's really important to me to make it believable and both of them running off into the sunset now that Katherine is gone unfortunately doesn't do the story justice. I'm going to stop babbling now, here is the next update! **

She must have drifted off at some point, Elena realised as she sat up stiffly, every single one of her muscles aching in protest at the movement. Her nose was stuffy and her eye's scratchy with a dryness that came from shedding too many tears. She was only confused for a fraction of a second as to_ why_ she was sleeping on a sofa before she remembered. The blanket that Damon had lain over her a few hours ago pooled at her waist and she looked at it confused as to how it had found it's way there. The sound of glass being set down on wood broke her from her reverie just a few seconds later however, and she snapped her attention over to the noise; breath catching in her throat at the sight of him.

Damon – who at some point had changed and taken a shower she noted, was standing at his drinks cabinet looking for all intensive purposes like his old self; he was clad in a form fitting black long sleeved shirt which he'd pulled up at the forearms and dark navy jeans his raven hair freshly tousled and just a little bit damp still. He glanced over to her briefly his aquamarine eyes meeting hers as he poured his favourite amber liquid into the awaiting glass. Once he was done he gestured to another glass, bringing his to his lips swiftly as he did so. It took her a moment to realise what that had meant before she shook her head slightly, _no_ she didn't want a drink; one hand raising unconsciously to pat down the unruly mass of curls on her head, wincing as her hand snagged on a knot.

He took a moment to consider her, taking her in. Last night she hadn't even bothered to dry her hair before coming to him, hence it remaining in it's natural state and he realised that he preferred it straight. He preferred it because she looked _just _like Katherine sitting there, hair mused make-up free the sleep still palpable on her features. He purged his thoughts by focusing on the swirling liquid, drinking it and delighting in the tangible burn it elicited. Elena stood stiffly her body exhausted and walked over to him, slowly; testing the water so to speak. She wanted so desperately to talk to him about what had happened but she wasn't a fool. She knew he didn't_ do_ talking, she knew he wouldn't sit and purge his feelings to her in some heartfelt speech so she settled for observing him as best she could.

He scrutinized her for a few moments more, finishing his drink before setting it down with a loud thud – he could tell _exactly_ what she was thinking.

"How did you get out?" he asked suddenly, his expression completely unreadable; it confused her.

"What?" she asked a frown crossing her features.

"From the basement Elena" he elaborated, moving forwards so that he was standing closer to her his head tilting with curiosity. He'd thought about it extensively whilst he'd watched her sleep. He'd made sure to take her phone from her before locking her in there to be sure that she couldn't call one of her merry little friends to come and rescue her. She made an _"oh"_ face of understanding before answering him evenly.

"My arms are thin enough to fit through the bars." She stated simply, recalling how she'd realised that by desperately reaching out to clasp at thing air, to try and grab him before he'd left. It was a move he hadn't seen because she'd been too slow and she was thankful for that now because it had been an unconscious gesture, she'd just been so desperate to keep him with her. Even for _one_ second more. It had taken a good few moments whilst she'd been despairing at his disappearance to realise that her arm was still hanging limply through the bar. Before she'd realised the implications of it, before she realised what she was actually _doing_. And then she'd tiptoed. Forcing her body as close to the door as she could physically get absolutely hell bent on getting her hand to enclose around the metal grip of the bolt; bruised herself with the amount of vigour she'd put into the action, not caring that her arm felt like it was being ripped from it's socket. It had taken her a good 10 minutes of struggling but her clumsy fingers had_ finally_ been able to reach what they were looking for and she'd cried out in triumph as the heavy clank could be heard, signifying her release from captivity.

He chuckled softly shaking his head; _of course_. Why hadn't he thought of that? If a bottle could easily fit through the bars then he should have noticed that her arms were more than slender enough to do the same, more so now than they had been a few months ago thanks to her diminished eating habits.

"You shouldn't have come" he said darkly, his expression sobering as he took in the way she defiantly raised her chin.

"You shouldn't have gone without me" she countered, allowing a bit of anger to seep into her words because she knew why he'd done it, she knew and she understood but she was tired of always being protected. She was tired of people not understanding that when she cared; when she cared she _had _to be there.

"You have a death whish" he stated raising his eyebrows at her, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"No. I just care about you, about you both" she answered frankly crossing her arms defensively, his expression had faltered for the briefest of seconds registering shock at the bluntness of her confession, at the ease with which she had said it – as if it were common knowledge that she now regarded him to be of similar importance to Stefan. As if they said it to each other all of the time before he shut it down. No one in their right mind should _care_ about Vampires his experience had taught him that well enough. Her heart leapt in her chest because she knew that she was getting somewhere.

"Like I said; you have a death wish" he repeated, turning back to his drinks cabinet. She faltered slightly letting her arms fall to her side as she watched him walk away from her, putting physical distance between them.

"Why do you keep trying to push me away?" she muttered, shocked by her own boldness but the words; the words that had been screaming at her for months were finally forcing their way out. He said nothing his back facing her as he poured himself another drink and she waited, her heart pounding for him to speak.

"Where's Stefan?" he deflected, not hiding the bitter edge his voice had taken on and she sobered, recoiling slightly because that was a good question and she had no idea.

"I don't know" she answered refusing to rise to the bait, refusing to take the out that he had just provided her.

"Maybe you should go and bother him" he stated, taking another long sip from his glass still refusing to turn back to her.

Elena wanted to scream, she wanted to stomp her feet and scream bloody murder; to vent her frustration, her utter dismay because she would never grow used to his constant back and forth. It would never cease to cause an irate rage to rear its ugly head within her because all she wanted to do was _help_. All she wanted to do was be _there_ for him, all she wanted to do was care for him and he wouldn't let her - point blank and it was driving her crazy.

"_Stop it_!" she hissed suddenly, her voice harsh and low practically shaking with rage.

"Stop acting like you don't care" she ground out fighting the urge to shout at him. He did turn to her then, slowly one eyebrow raised with curiosity as he noticed the change come over her. As she spoke with a ferocity that made a flutter of excitement course through him – it was what had attracted him to her in the first place after all; her rapture, the fire that he knew she kept hidden within her delicate exterior.

"Stop acting like you _want_ to be alone!" she cried, her fits bawling because it was taking everything within her not to hit him, to try and physically imprint her words upon him. His eyes narrowed and he clenched his jaw.

"And why don't _you_ stop acting like you can fix everything" he hissed, suddenly standing just inches from her face and she gasped softly because she hadn't been expecting that; hadn't been expecting her scrutiny to be thrust back upon her. It hit a nerve within her because he was right of course. She was _always_ trying to fix things, always trying to help and she could never understand why he didn't seem to _want_ it from her.

"Damon" she breathed, his name like a prayer on her lips as she tried to get through to him, her voice pained mirroring the expression that she wore; starring up into his troublesome eyes, those eyes that were fighting so gallantly to remain hard and sterile.

"_Elena_" he mimicked his tone mocking and dangerous as he quirked his head and narrowed his eyes, almost challenging her to defy him; to keep pushing. Testing her limits, testing her to see just how far she would go with this little tangent. Her indignation was coming off, of her in waves as she struggled to find the right words to say, but the only thing that she could concentrate on was the huge wave of desire that had suddenly engulfed her. A blush crept up to her cheeks as she realised that she was starring at his lips. She shook her head slightly to clear the incomprehensible fog that surrounded her and took a deep breath. One minute she was angry at him, hurt that he wouldn't let her in, the next all she could think about were his lips and what it would feel like to kiss them! There was _definitely _something amiss she pondered her mind drifting to her recently estranged boyfriend, it caused an inner turmoil to bubble up inside of her.

"Look" she sighed crossing her arms against her chest in an effort to hold herself together: "I don't expect you to sit and… purge your feelings to me; that's not what I'm asking… I just don't want you to go back to the way you were before; after founders day…" she said trailing off feeling slightly embarrassed for opening up to him this way. He said nothing as he considered her words, running over them in his mind: the way he had been after founder's day. So she was talking about the way he'd ignored her calls, the way he'd always made sure that she wasn't around before he entered the boarding house immediately leaving on the rare occasion that she'd managed to catch him off guard. He smirked suggestively at her.

"Why Elena, anyone would think that you're _finally_ starting to realise how much fun I can be" he quipped, his eyes widening slightly as he toyed with her. She rolled her eyes in response failing to hide the small and almost imperceptible smile it brought to her lips.

"And that means you need to stick around long enough for me to see" she said playing along, raising her eyebrows to place emphasis upon the hidden implications of her statement. It was how they communicated. They said the things that needed to be said without_ really_ saying them. Somehow everything always remained unspoken but never untouched and she'd be lying if she said it didn't thrill her, if that sense of uncertainty didn't keep her coming back from more; always trying to find little pieces that might help her solve the puzzle that was Damon Salvatore. His eyes danced with life and she didn't know why but it provided a welcome relief to see them like that; to see something other than bitterness and hate, something other than falsely concealed sorrow and the corners of his mouth slowly made way for a breathtaking smile and she savoured it; committing every detail to memory because it was truly beautiful.

"Sure, why not?" he said, knocking back the remainder of his drink and sauntering away to the drinks cabinet for the third time in the space of what had realistically only been 5 minutes since Elena had awoken. She relaxed her stance allowing the tension to seep from her body taking his light agreement to heart. He wasn't going to run off into oblivion now that Katherine was gone; she'd been so sure that the only reason he hadn't skipped town after founder's day was because of Katherine. She'd sensed it and somewhere in the back of her mind she'd always feared that following the demise of his former love he'd have no reason to stay in Mystic Falls. He'd leave her. He'd leave her confused and alone, alienated from Stefan because something about Damon would _always_ get to her. She'd never be free of him; of his memory. She would always be drawn to him and maybe, maybe it was time to do something about that.

Elena had allowed herself a few more moments with Damon. A few more moments where the only thing she had to deal was his conversation before she'd been forced to accept reality. There were still a hell of a lot of issues to be resolved; she needed to check on Jeremy and Stefan. To visit Bonnie now that she was in a more coherent state to express how grateful she was. She needed Damon to lift his compulsion from Jenna and… she resolutely decided in that moment; she needed to_ tell _Jenna. She needed to tell her about _everything_. She couldn't keep this hidden from her Aunt any longer; she couldn't keep lying. She wanted to ease her pain by letting her know that Jeremy was still alive in some sense of the term – should have done it a long, _long_ time ago.

Elena had barely been gone for a minute before Stefan had walked into the den, the smell of booze overpowering his nostrils as his brother feigned ignorance to his presence. Stefan's face was set in a deep frown and Damon could just see the cogs turning in his mind. He rolled his eyes slightly; he was wondering when this conversation would happen; he was wondering when his brother would finally put two and two together. In fact Damon was mentally counting down _3..2..1…_

"You knew" Stefan spoke slowly, his hands thrust into his pockets as he regarded his brother. _Bingo. _Damon thought barely containing his delighted scoff – playing with his brother had always served to provide a little too much entertainment than it should have.

"Knew what my brother?" he asked cheerily over the rim of the bottle, he was done with using a glass. He needed to be wasted. He needed a blissful oblivion.

"You knew that I'd go to Katherine…_ how_?" he asked, genuinely confused and Damon almost, _almost_ felt sorry for his brother then because he really was clueless. He really _didn't _understand how predictable he was.

"Because, _brother_; you _always_ do the right thing" he mocked as if it were the most obvious conclusion in the world. Damon shook his head in exasperation because he could see that he hadn't got it yet; he hadn't clocked on. He sucked in a breath between his teeth making a mock pained sound; as if his brother's ignorance actually pained him in any way. As if he were really trying to help enlighten him.

"God, you're just so _clueless_" Damon said, sauntering over slowly and coming to stand before him before continuing. "_Of course_ you'd break up with Elena - in typical martyr fashion might I add. I mean, you _honestly _believed that the only way to kill Katherine was to make a deal with her?" he asked, raising his eyebrows allowing a scolding chuckle to lace his words as he took another large gulp from the bottle.

"I guess I should thank you though; without you my plan would never have worked" he continued easily, as if he were simply talking about the weather, the indifference projecting from him.

"What plan?" Stefan asked, well and truly perplexed. Damon smirked.

"My plan to kill Katherine. _Duh_" he said quirking his head and delighting in the frustration it caused his brother.

"Damon!" Stefan ground out, he wasn't in the mood to play this game and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Look, I knew you'd go after Katherine, _alone._ So I made a few calls of my own; call it a contingency plan" he elaborated.

"When?"

"The night you broke up with _Elena _– very smooth Stefan the whole _it's not you it's me _speech; I _like _it" he continued his eyes widening with mirth as he watched Stefan squirm with barely restrained anger.

"_How_?" Stefan pressed.

"_Urgh_. What is this? 20 questions?" Damon said his expression deadpanning because he was growing tired of his brother's ignorance. It was simple and he relayed the condensed version to his troublesome sibling with little expression; he'd contacted everyone that same night - after he'd heard Elena and Stefan's break up from the grand foyer having just returned from the Grill. He'd arranged a meeting for the next day, convinced a rather dubious Bonnie later that morning to help them and by three o'clock they'd all been assigned roles to take Katherine down once and for all. Bonnie had cast a spell that dulled Katherine's ability to sense them surrounding her. Alaric had been in charge of weapons; Isobel and Jeremy had been assigned to charge Katherine _only _once she had started to attack him and he... Well, he along with Stefan (although unknowingly) had played the roles of bait and distraction. All it had taken was one call to Alaric for them all to spring into action. It had been the perfect plan, utterly foolproof.

Damon wondered idly if he'd missed his calling as an actor because Elena had eaten up his portrayal of the in the dark, _concerned_ older brother when he'd found her just a few hours later. She'd believed every single one of the thoughts and emotions he'd projected as he'd told her of Stefan's intentions. She'd been _completely _fooled as he'd acted out the scene, and apparently. Apparently so had he, because he'd almost made _himself _believe it, such was the depth of his lie. He may or may not have been experiencing some of those fears as he'd realised that his brother had gone _already_. He'd been expecting a turn around of at least a day, maybe two but no. No, it seemed that Stefan could still surprise him in some ways… and maybe that was why he'd gotten careless and not realised that Elena would find a way to escape. If he'd had more time he mused he could have made sure that she would never have witnessed those things.

Stefan shook his head in disbelief as he tried to comprehend the effectiveness, the _ease_ with which Damon had played him; played Elena.

"Why didn't you just tell me what you were planning? I could have gone to Katherine anyway… I wouldn't have"

"You wouldn't have _what_?" Damon interrupted suddenly. "Broken up with your girlfriend?" he snapped offering him a wicked and conniving expression "Now _why_ would I have wanted to do that?" he asked in a sing-song sort of way. Stefan's jaw twitched involuntarily with anger.

"When Elena finds out that you lied to her, she'll _never_ forgive you" Stefan stated darkly infuriated when all it elicited was a scoff from Damon; Damon who had now come to stand directly before him, leaning into his space so that there could be no room for misunderstanding.

"When Elena finds out about what I did she'll _thank_ me. She'll thank me because it saved your life. It saved _all _of our lives" he spat vehemently sharing a long and tense look with his brother before stepping back as if the exchange had never even occurred, brushing the momentary surge of annoyance that had washed over him to sarcastically end the conversation.

"_You're welcome_, by the way" he drawled in response to the non existent thank you that Stefan _should_ be giving him right about now. Pride was such an ugly thing and Damon let it slide, once again choosing to ignore his brother's irate presence as he polished off the remainder of the bottle, moving onto the next immediately.


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry this one took a little bit longer to crank out than intended, had a little writers block and it was my Mother's birthday yesterday - I'm still nursing a killer hangover here so if there are mistakes in this I apologise, I have read it through a few times and tried to watch them all but I think I may have missed some :( As always aamzing reviews from last chapter! They made me so happy and I'm glad the majority of you are not too disappointed that Katherine being gone isn't going to = Delena's happily ever after just yet... **

Elena's heart was currently striking an un-even and punishing rhythm as it hammered away in her chest. Her hands were clammy and she had to clasp them in her lap to stop them from shaking. Jenna was sitting before her on the beige sofa of the Gilbert residence having been freshly relieved of Damon's compulsion surveying the house with mild curiosity. Whatever this feeling was it was_ strange; _almost as if she were existing in that delicate precipice between sleep and the waking world. She was trying to remember…_ something_; what _was_ she trying to remember? She asked herself silently. It was akin to trying to cling desperately to the details of a dream, one that you awaken from and just seconds after you open your eyes the details slip away into some impenetrable abyss. Jenna noticed the way that her young niece was regarding her and laughed shakily.

"Maybe I had a little too much wine last night" she joked, trying to ignore the horrible feeling that something was wrong. Elena didn't smile however, she didn't give any indication that she'd even heard her attempt at lightening the mood and simply continued to look at her with a worrisome expression.

"I need to tell you something" she began slowly her mind scrambling to find the words she'd rehearsed in the mirror of Damon's bathroom earlier. Jenna's expression sobered, her throat clenching because her gut was telling her that whatever this was; it would be monumental. In fact it reminded her of the feeling she just hadn't been able to shake on that fateful day, when Elena's parents had been killed…

"Ok?" she said nodding slightly, indicating that she should continue.

Elena took a moment, gave pause to the situation and took a deep and calming breath before continuing.

"I need you to listen to me, I know what I'm about to tell you will be hard for you to understand; and I know that you have a lot of questions and I promise, I WILL answer them, but please. You need to let me finish before you say anything" Elena stated, a little more breathless than she had intended. Jenna's eyes widened in alarm and her brows furrowed but eventually she nodded, repeating her earlier words.

"Ok…"

This was it. The point of no return… she barrelled forwards ignoring her anxiety and fears because if she thought about it anymore; Elena knew she wouldn't be able to force the words to leave her mouth.

"Stefan… he's not like us, Damon too… do you remember those animal attacks?" she began waiting as Jenna nodded to indicate her understanding. "Well, those people… Vickie, they weren't attacked by animals… they were attacked by Vampires." Elena paused, trying to gauge her Aunts reaction and what she saw made her heart sink.

Jenna was looking at her incredulously; she almost looked like she wanted to laugh, as if what she was saying was a huge joke…

"Elena, I know the past few years have been hard…" she began but Elena cut her off vehemently.

"No! You said you would listen to me; please, I'm telling you the truth!" she said exasperated "Look, I know you have no reason to believe me but just think about it. _Think_. All of the secrecy from the council, they mayors death; the fire on founder's day, the sudden disappearance of those people the deputies rounded up… Uncle John's murder… You _know_ that there's something wrong. You KNOW that there's always been something about Stefan, particularly Damon that you haven't trusted" she implored, leaning forwards on her seat and taking Jenna's hands in her own. Apparently that had worked because she could see the tiny part of acceptance creeping into her Aunt's eyes.

"Stefan and Damon are Vampires. They were here when Mystic Falls was founded, that's why their names are on the town records – it's_ them_. Our family, the town's people they found out about the Vampires in 1864, they tried to round them up, killed some and managed to seal the others in a tomb; the old church, the one that burned down – that was a cover up, just like the fire in Dad's old shop…"

"Jenna; Uncle John knew. He started the fire, he killed Anna… the one that Jeremy cared about. He – he's my biological father; he was 15 when Isobel fell pregnant. They didn't know what to do so they went to my Dad…" she broke off as Jenna's eyes darted from side to side rapidly as she tried to process the information. She looked up at Elena helplessly her mouth beginning to hang agape slightly. Elena squeezed her hands reassuringly…

"I know how hard this is; I barely understand it all myself but I'm telling you this… I'm telling you because I _can't _lie to you anymore" she ground out her voice beginning to waver, faltering and failing her.

"I_ can't_ keep seeing you blame yourself for Jeremy; it _wasn't_ your fault… that night… Jenna… Jeremy turned himself. He took a vial of Anna's blood and killed himself so that he could become one of them; a Vampire… like Damon and Stefan. Like Anna was too. He did it because he didn't want to _hurt_ anymore" she spoke, taking a shuddering breath as the tears that she'd been so desperately trying to hold back forced their way to the surface.

"…_no" _ Jenna said shakily, shaking her head from side to side in defiance. It was beyond comprehensible; her niece had well and truly lost her mind and come up with some elaborate story that was beyond crazy to help her cope with her grief. That was the only rational and acceptable explanation as to why Elena was currently telling her these things.

"Yes" Elena whispered, turning her attention to the large archway that lead into the hallway prompting Jenna to do the same and what she saw… What she saw caused the breath to dissipate from her lungs in a harsh and startled gasp.

He was standing there; _alive_. Jenna's hands flew to her mouth as she tried to keep her scream of terror from letting rip into the tense air. This wasn't happening. She'd lost her mind. The grief had finally become too much and now, now she was hallucinating.

"Aunt Jenna" Jeremy said tentatively stepping forwards and walking down the wooden steps of the split level; inching closer to her. She stood abruptly as she realised that he was coming towards her, backing herself into the kitchen using the island as a physical barrier to protect her from whatever he was.

"Don't! Don't come any closer" she gasped, tears streaming unbidden down her face. His expression became one of pain and confusion as Elena came to stand beside him, looking on sadly. She'd suspected that this wouldn't be easy… but if she were being honest she hadn't thought that it would be _this_ bad. She was beginning to regret her decision.

"Please, Jenna it's me – it's Jeremy" he continued, holding out his hand to her, urging her to take it, urging her to accept him.

"No… no this can't be happening: this isn't _real_" she spat shaking her head vehemently again. She was pale, she looked like she was about to be sick and it made Elena's heart ache so uncomfortably in her chest.

"Jenna, it's ok; I promise it's going to be ok" Elena whispered frantically, scrambling to find any words that might provide a source of comfort to her. Jenna turned her back, shutting her eyes fiercely welcoming the darkness as she leaned heavily upon the kitchen island where Damon had sat so many months ago helping Elena to fold dishcloths.

"I know how hard this is to believe… and I know how much this hurts but it's the truth. Jeremy is _alive, _surely that's better than him being gone" Elena tried again, watching as her Aunt's back tensed visibly her knuckles turning white with the force she was putting into gripping the countertop. After what felt like an Eternity she finally took a few shuddering breaths composing herself enough to face them again. Her jaw set in a tense clench as she worked to keep her emotions at bay.

"…So let me get this straight; you're telling me that your boyfriend and his brother are _Vampires… _and now Jeremy is too!" she spoke incredulously, her voice nothing but a harsh and breathless whisper as she frowned down upon the two of them. Elena opened her mouth to say something but Jeremy stepped in before she could.

"Maybe if I showed you – it might make it easier?" he asked tentatively refusing to flinch under the cold stare that she was fixing him with.

"Showed me what?" she asked carefully. Jeremy took a deep breath sparing a glance to his sister who was looking at him in despair at a loss for the best course of action to take before closing his eyes and focusing upon the sound of their two wildly pounding heartbeats. On imaging the feel of thick, warm blood gliding down his throat _so_ deliciously and that was all it had taken for his features to change. For his eyes to become bloodshot and his fangs to extend.

Jenna gasped in a mixture of pure shock and horror as she stumbled back even further, knocking a plate to the floor with a loud smash as she threw herself against the furthest kitchen counter, trying to get as far away from them as she could possibly get.

"Oh god" she whimpered in pure terror as she took in his demonic features. This wasn't some sick joke… this wasn't a dream, everything that she was seeing right now was_ really_ happening and all she wanted to do was escape. "I can't – I can't do this" she whispered frantically, sliding herself towards the dining table, gripping the counters all the way along for support.

"Jenna! Jenna wait – please" Elena cried, moving towards her and trying to grab her to stop her from running but it had been no use, her palm had briefly made contact with her wrist before it slipped from her grasp; her aunt dashing towards the front door having grabbed her keys before disappearing through it with a large slam.

Elena let out a sound that was somewhere between an exasperated sigh and a barely contained and shaky sob before running her hand through her hair. Just like she always did whenever she was stressed. She turned, her hand still tangled sharply in her locks to Jeremy whose features had reverted back into their natural state, her eyes pooling with tears.

"What have I done?" she whispered brokenly her lips trembling, eyes open wide with unrestrained fear.

"Well that didn't exactly go to plan…" Damon drawled. His voice caused the hairs to stand up on the back of her neck and she shivered involuntarily. She'd known he was hanging around somewhere, listening to the entire exchange; she was pretty sure that Stefan was lurking around too but he had yet to appear. She whipped around to face him, the action causing his mused hair to flutter slightly from the wind it created.

"Don't joke about this" Elena ground out trying incredibly hard not to lash out at him. He held his hands up in defence a smile easily gracing his features.

"Feisty – I_ like_ it" he said his eyes widening slightly as he pushed her just that little bit more. She bit down on her lip forcing herself not to rise to the bait and he sighed slightly, rolling his eyes before conceding.

"_Fine" _he huffed "Calm down, I can compel her to forget" he stated simply, his eyes darting to Jeremy quickly as he tracked his nervous movements. His attention was drawn back to Elena when she shook her head vehemently from side to side.

"No. No more compulsion" she muttered, running her hands through her hair in an effort to alleviate her stress again.

"We have to go and find her" she concluded after a moment dropping her hands resolutely, she'd already made up her mind. There was no debating it.

"Sure, let me just go and get my crystal ball" Damon said sarcastically fixing her with a pointed glare. He really wasn't in the mood to go gallivanting around in the middle of the night on some wild goose chase. It was a bad idea he could just _feel_ it, there was something amiss.

"If you're not going to help me then you can just _leave_" she spat at him angrily and he rolled his eyes grabbing her by the arm to force her to listen to him.

"Think about it; she left to get away from you, from both of you; chasing after he isn't going to achieve anything – let someone else do it. Someone she trusts" he said, raising his eyebrows to accentuate his point as he bent down so that his eyes were level with hers. His words seemed to have the desired effect as she softened slightly, becoming more pliable in his grip.

"Someone like _who_? I'm pretty sure I just told her that everything she thinks she knows is a lie" she asked quirking her head to the side pointedly, attitude seeping into her words.

"You didn't get to Alaric" he answered easily seeing the exact moment when she realised that he was indeed right. She hadn't managed to get that far… Her eyes widened and she removed her arm from his grip with ease – he hadn't _really_ been trying to keep her there she realised otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get free, and stepped around him dashing to get her keys.

"Don't bother" Damon said, pulling his phone from his pocket and waving it at her slightly. She stopped and looked up at him, just in time to see him scrolling through the list before bringing the phone to his ear.

"Ric?" he said immediately as the phone was picked up.

"_Yeah_"

"We have a little situation…" Damon said his eyes meeting Elena's as she regarded him suspiciously.

"_What happened?_"

"Jenna's decided to go walk about, you need to find her; take her home" he instructed cryptically, he could hear movement on the other end, the sound of keys and a door shutting.

"_What did you do?_"

Damon made a face, god why did _everyone_ immediately assume that everything was his fault.

"Actually, _Elena_ decided to tell her about the family secret – lets just say she didn't take it too well" he responded coldly.

Alaric paused on the way to his car before muttering softly.

"_Shit_"

"Exactly"

"_Ok, I'm on it_" Alaric spoke before hanging up, shoving the phone roughly into his pocket and gunning out of his driveway.

Damon mimicked the action, depositing his mobile into the pocket of his jeans.

"Are you trying to keep me here?" Elena blurted out suddenly, moving so that she was standing before him again her expression one of curiosity as she tried to read his eyes.

He smirked seductively.

"Why? Do you_ want_ me to be?" he said waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"What's going on Damon?" she asked ignoring his comment, stepping closer feeling the dread welling up within her. His expression faltered slightly, surprised by how easily she'd deduced that something was off, and if he was being honest, it annoyed him slightly. He was losing his touch.

"There's something out there" he spoke quietly, his eyes intense and foreboding. He picked up on the way that her heart rate tripled; could smell her fear.

"Something as in, a vampire?" she pressed and he shook his head. No. This was something that he couldn't quite place, something that made him feel un-easy because he hadn't seen it, couldn't hear it – in fact he had no real evidence that it wasn't simply a figment of his imagination, but whatever it was. Whatever it was, was making his gut scream at him to stay inside the house. To be on high alert.

"I don't know what it is" he admitted slowly, moving into the living room so that he could peer into the darkness beyond the window. He heard Elena following him, Jeremy in her wake.

"I can't sense anything" Jeremy said puzzled and Damon shot him a look that conveyed exactly how stupid that statement was coming from him.

"That's because your what? Two minutes old?" he admonished before turning his attention back to the darkness. Jeremy rolled his eyes regardless of the fact he was right and Elena gave him a sad look that conveyed the fact that she was inclined to agree with Damon on this one. She slipped into the small space between him and the edge of the window, peeling the curtain back to observe the outside of her house for herself.

She knew it was useless, that her human eyes were far too inadequate to make anything out in the dim streetlight but the action put her mind at ease. Damon looked down at her briefly; could feel the warmth of her body radiating from her through the little space between them. He could feel it as it penetrated the seemingly endless frozen tundra that surrounded him and he wondered just _when_ he had become so weak; so susceptible to her presence. She turned her head slightly, her eyes finding his intense gaze. The air tingled between them and Elena couldn't help the way her eyes kept fixing themselves upon his lips; she seemed to be doing that a lot lately… _too_ much in fact. She noticed the way that they twitched slightly beginning to form a knowing smirk and she blushed deeply forcing herself to meet his eyes again – although she mused they hardly made it easier to concentrate. His eyes danced with expression, almost daring her to deny what he_ knew_ she had just been thinking about but before she could form a flustered response a loud thud against the door caused her to shriek slightly and him to sober.

"Get behind me" he instructed his tone leaving no room for argument and she wasn't about to disobey him. They stalked towards the door slowly, Elena's fist bawled into the fabric on the back of his shirt as she followed – he'd have to tease her about that later he mused before he came to stand by the door, Jeremy on the opposite side. They shared a look and Jeremy gave a nod before Damon ripped the door open, ready to fight whatever evil may have been standing on the other side only to be left shocked when a body slumped over the threshold, landing with a thud on the wooden floorboards. He frowned deeply, surveying the figure whose clothes had been torn, body covered in dirt and scratches. Elena peeked her hear around Damon's back to see whoever it was and a gasp escaped her lips as she recognised his features.

"_Tyler!_?" she said incredulously.


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you for all of your awesome reviews last chapter *sigh* you guys make me so happy! Also a question: Jenna is Elena's dad's sister? or Elena's mums sister? I'm confused D: **

Damon and Jeremy had both acted swiftly, dragging Tyler's feet through the door before slamming it shut. Tyler groaned and coughed slightly, rolling onto his side to peer with bleary eyes at the set of faces before him.

"Dude… I thought you were dead" he mumbled, brow furrowing with the effort that simple statement had taken. His throat was dry; scratchy, and if it were not for the events of the past few months he would have been more inclined to shock. Nothing surprised him anymore, not after the things he'd learned since founders day.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jeremy asked crouching down to observe his former enemy. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding, his eyes flicking to Elena's and then settling upon Damon's.

"I… I don't know" muttered dumbly, stupefied as to how he had ended up at the Gilbert residence having only been there a handful of times, with the intent of egging the house in fact – during the period where he'd been fighting Jeremy for Vicky's affections. Damon crossed his arms leaning casually against the door as he watched the exchange with interest, that niggling feeling bothering him all the while.

"Did someone hurt you?" Elena asked tentatively, surveying the damage to his skin with her eyes.

"…I can't remember" he said shaking his head slightly and closing his eyes in an attempt to stave off the pounding headache he was currently experiencing.

"Are you hurt badly?" she continued, once she was satisfied that the scratches and slight bruising seemed to be the only damage to his person.

"No… I don't think so" came his equally confused reply. Damon shot Jeremy a look, silently conveying an order and Jeremy nodded slightly, grabbing Tyler by the underarms and dragging him to his feet.

"Come on; you need to get cleaned up" he said glumly, already half helping half dragging him up the wooden staircase to the bathroom he used to share with Elena. She stood from her crouching position slowly turning to face Damon's troubled expression and he shook his head before explaining.

"Something's not right" he said carefully, his eyes boring into hers.

"Do you think he's lying to us?" she whispered paranoid that if she spoke to loudly it would suddenly cause the world to rupture and all hell to break lose. Damon took a breath contemplating Tyler's stilted and jumbled responses, no. He didn't think he was consciously trying to forget... it was something else; something that was preventing him from recalling whatever had happened to him.

"Not on purpose… he's not safe Elena; we need to get him out of the house" he deduced, pushing himself away from the wall and stalking to the window they'd been standing at previously. He scanned the surroundings one again coming up with nothing, but this time; this time he noted the partially covered moon and otherworldly glow it was casting upon the town of Mystic Falls. It caused something to snag inside of his mind. He could hear the non-existent jingle of his subconscious telling him that he was thinking along the right path.

"How are we going to do that; whatever attacked him could still be out there, what if it kills him?" she asked frantically as she watched his movements from the top of the small stairway of the split-level. He clenched his jaw as his mind worked in rapid succession to connect the dots – Mayor Lockwood, he could still see the man cowering in terror in the fire before his neck had been so deftly snapped by one of the tomb Vampires. He still hadn't figured out why the vervain hadn't affected him and now. Now his son had turned up on the doorstep with no discernable memories of how he'd ended up there in that state. The two were definitely connected and whatever it was didn't bode well for them.

"Trust me, Elena" he implored, suddenly standing directly before her as she looked into his eyes, the split level providing just the right height difference to make them level. Nose to nose, eye to eye. She took a stilted breath as the wind his movement had caused finished fluttering through her hair and swallowed at the depth of honesty he was conveying with his gaze.

"Ok" she breathed, her stare unwavering as she refused to even blink, refused to break the connection, refused to stop the butterflies that were erupting and gallivanting inside of her chest. He allowed his eyes to roam the expanse of her face, travelling downwards before once again meeting her un-wavering gaze.

"Good, now stay here" he instructed before making his way to the door again. Elena couldn't stop the questions from tumbling out of her lips as she made to follow him.

"Wait, where are you going?" she asked, jogging slightly to stop him as his hand encircled the metal doorknob. He rolled his eyes slightly and addressed her.

"_I'm_ going to get your car ready, you're going to wait here until I tell you otherwise" he said raising his eyebrows to impress upon her the seriousness of the situation. She huffed much like an admonished child would when they didn't get their own way and crossed her arms across her chest defiantly.

"You don't have my keys" she said, raising her chin triumphantly and he smirked at her easily; his free hand drawing them from the front pocket of his perfectly fitting jeans. Her eyes widened in disbelief and she dropped her arms to her side. When the hell had he taken them from her? And more importantly _why_ hadn't she noticed? He chuckled softly at her reaction before his face sobered again, commanding her attention. Demanding that she listen to him.

"Do not, under _any_ circumstance, open this door unless I tell you to Elena" he instructed carefully his right hand still planted firmly on the doorknob, ready to turn it the second he had her word that she'd listen to him this time. She took a long moment to think about, to let different scenarios filter through her mind where she might be able to find a loophole but eventually she sighed acknowledging that this time; this time she'd obey his wishes… maybe.

"_Fine_" she said portraying her dissatisfaction loud and clear, he still didn't move or take his unwavering gaze from her, it made her skin tingle because she was sure in that moment that he was _really_ looking at her. Seeing _everything_ and she straightened up, swallowing nervously before she spoke tentatively, amending her words.

"I _promise_ you Damon. I won't open that door" her voice came out as a raspy and breathy whisper and her heart was like a jackhammer in her chest as something washed over him, his expression finally softening and his scrutiny resting. The tightness in his jaw dissipated finally satisfied that she got the point and he gave her a small nod before opening the door and disappearing into the night silently, the wood clicking softly behind him as he left. Elena released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and shivered drawing her arms around her as the cold wind that had rushed to fill the space slowly settled in the too quiet hallway.

She chewed her lip nervously before making up her mind and walking back towards the window watching as he made his way down the drive towards the street where she'd parked her car earlier. He paused looking around deftly before inserting the key into the lock and opening the door, there were a few tense seconds where he was out of her sight before Elena heard the grumble of the engine coming to life. Before she could see her car move, backing up into the driveway where Jenna's car had previously been parked before he left it on and in gear just a few meters from the front steps.

"Jeremy, you need to get Tyler ready to go" Elena called out, inclining her head to look towards the top of the stairway as she waited to hear anything.

"Give me a minute" came his distant reply. Satisfied for now Elena returned to her attention to the front of her house. Her heart slammed into her chest violently because the car was there just like it had been a second ago but Damon was nowhere to be seen. She swallowed and inched closer to the glass, so close that her breath condensed upon it's cool surface impairing her vision further.

"Damn it" she hissed, pushing herself away from that window and dashing towards another one checking the driveway again. She still couldn't see him and she wasn't going to lie, it filled her heart with ice-cold fear as various possibilities crossed her mind. Her attention was drawn elsewhere however by the sound of footsteps and she turned, going to stand at the bottom of the stairs. Jeremy huddled down them supporting Tyler awkwardly.

"Ready" he said somewhat breathlessly as she noticed that Tyler was now wearing some of his old things and his face and hands had been cleaned up enough to be presentable.

"Good, Damon just went to get the car…" she said trailing off as Tyler slumped slightly. She rushed forwards and supported his weight with Jeremy, both of them on either side of him, his arms slung over their shoulders. Elena jumped when a knock could be heard on the door; she waited tentatively with baited breath.

"It's me, open up" Damon said, and Elena sighed with relief removing herself from Tyler opening the door slowly to reveal him standing tersely on the doorstep. He glanced past her at Jeremy and motioned for them to follow him.

"Come on" he commanded, already making his way to the car opening the back door. Elena watched as Jeremy dragged Tyler's limp form to the backseat, letting him slump across most of the space there before squeezing in himself. Once they were settled Damon shut the door firmly rounding the bonnet and getting into the drivers side with ease, Elena taking the passengers seat.

"Where are we taking him?" Elena asked quietly, glancing over at his sleeping form scared that her words would wake him.

"To Carol" he answered easily, not taking his eyes from the road. Elena stiffened slightly; since when had they been on a first name basis? She crossed her arms leaning back in her seat like a petulant child and he couldn't help but to roll his eyes.

"Jealousy doesn't become you Elena" he drawled sarcastically, a knowing and mocking smirk crossing his lips as he shot her a look. She bristled measurably.

"I'm _not_ jealous… I just don't think it's safe" she bit out tersely. He shrugged slightly being completely honest with her.

"That's not our problem" he answered. She snapped her head to the side looking at him sharply.

"Damon" she admonished and he gave a tired sigh.

"You know I'm getting tired of this _hero_ act; we have enough to deal with already" he deflected, looking into the rear-view mirror to check that Tyler wasn't in fact faking sleep and listening to the conversation.

"Why are you being like this? You _know_ Mrs. Lockwood isn't in any position to take care of him" she asked exasperated.

"Oh, you'd be surprised of how _well_ she can take care of people" he smirked his tone low and suggestive as he teased her. Pushed her buttons to get the sure fire reaction that he was looking for. Sure enough Elena's face morphed from one of barely contained confusion to absolute disgust as she absorbed the innuendo in his words. She made a noise of disproval.

"Urgh, you're sick!" she huffed, turning her head definitely to stare at the blur of tree's as they rushed past the window. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her squirm under his gaze; of seeing her cheeks flush with jealously. Damon laughed heartily at her, relishing in the power he had over her emotions before Jeremy interrupted.

"If you've finished verbally copulating you might want to take a look at this" he said dully from the backseat. A slither of moonlight bathed Tyler's no longer sleeping form, in fact his eyes were wide open, bloodshot and glowing an un-natural shade of yellowy orange, his pupils practically slits in his irises. Damon slammed his foot onto the breaks bringing them to a skidding halt by the side of the woodland on the long and winding road up to the Lockwood's property.

"Get out. _Now_" Damon hissed urgently as Tyler began to writhe around his face contorting into an expression of pain. Elena only hesitated for a fraction of a second before she obeyed his direction scrambling to un-fasten her seatbelt with shaky hands as she threw herself from the car stepping away from it for good measure. She didn't need to be told twice as adrenaline and fear ravished her, the sound of Tyler's screams meeting her ears.

"What's wrong with him?" she cried as Damon dragged him out of the backseat and onto the road, watching with morbid fascination as his features started to twist into what looked distinctly like a wolfs snout. She brought her hands up to her mouth to stifle her horrified scream as she realised what was happening.

"Oh my god" she breathed, backing away further, Jeremy holding her arm in a protective gesture as he watched with alarm as Damon moved away too. Tyler's form writhed on the floor, as his cries morphed into snarls, his skin sprouting a thick mane of jet-black hair and his mouth making way for large and menacing teeth. The moonlight was surrounding them and Damon looked up at the sky cursing himself for not connecting the dots sooner, the moon was full and mysterious as ever, hovering over Mystic Falls, the tiniest whisper of a cloud marring it's cyclical perfection. There was a moment of complete stillness where neither of them dared to move before Tyler stood slowly, his back to them, shrugging out of Jeremy's now ripped jacket with ease.

Damon was standing his jaw clenched in alarm as he asked himself _when_ exactly driving with a suspected werewolf had seemed like a good idea. That was until he realised dully that there was no way he could have left Tyler there in the house with Elena, and she seemed rather determined to follow him wherever he went these days - something that he found slightly endearing but also highly annoying. _No_, he was pretty sure that this had been the only alternative, and now; now they were being eyed like the most delicious prey in existence. He could hear Elena's heartbeat raging in his ears and he presumed that were he still a human his would have sounded much the same in this moment because, although he hated to admit it, he was measurably afraid of what would happen next. It had been years, no _decades _since he'd even heard recollections of lycanthrope. In fact up until this point he'd been sceptical of their existence, convinced that the last bloodline had been wiped out _well _before the turn of the 18th century.

The silence was broken by a low and threatening growl that erupted from Tyler's jaws as he lunged forwards, Damon stepping into his path giving him a forceful shove backwards, alarmed by how quickly he was able to recover. That was all it had taken to anger him enough to place a full on attack leaping deftly at Damon who was pinned to the ground because of the sheer force of it. He was all to aware of Elena's screams as Tyler's teeth lodged themselves around the forearm that he'd brought up to protect himself and he grimaced in pain as the flesh was ripped from the bone, leaving a large and gaping hole where the muscle should have been. _Fuck_. He struggled desperately for a few moments before finding an opening and taking it, using Tyler's weight against him to flip their positions, grabbing roughly at his neck trying to immobilise him as best he could. He considered snapping it for a moment before deciding against it. He needed a better plan, Elena would _never_ forgive him if he killed him.

Jeremy held his sister within his strong grip as she thrashed around helplessly trying to get lose as if she would be able to do something to help Damon if she were to get free. No, the only thing she would do is distract him and that would most definitely prove fatal he mused as he watched Damon wrestling to remain in control of the fight, placing repeated punches to Tyler's head in a last ditch attempt to knock him out. Elena wanted to look away, but she found that she was stuck. Her eyes glued to the scene before her, she'd long since abandoned screaming in terror; she'd also abandoned her fight to break free of her brother's arms. She was standing mouth wide open watching with rapt attention as Damon practically beat Tyler to within an inch of his supernatural life, slamming his head against the road repeatedly until finally, finally he'd fallen unconscious. Damon rolled off, of his limp body, panting slightly and groaning in pain as he surveyed the damage to his right forearm. The appendage was mauled practically beyond recognition and was bleeding profusely.

"Son of a bitch!" he ground out through gritted teeth, sitting up without the aid of his good arm as he clutched the limp and broken one to his chest protectively. He got to his feet and turned to face Elena's horrified stare, her eyes meeting his laced with disbelief as she took in his blood-splattered face. Tyler's blood. Her stomach lurched uncomfortably and she felt the distinct taste of bile raising in her throat as her mind scrambled to take in what she'd just seen him do with his bare hands. Something crossed Damon's face then; a flicker of regret because he wished that she hadn't had to see that. Of course she accepted that he'd done what needed to be done in order to save their lives, she _knew_ that. But there was a large difference between theory and actually witnessing the man she was falling in love with beating one of her classmates to within in an inch of their lives. _Wait, the man I'm falling in love with! _Elena was completely floored at her minds own silent admission and her heart skipped several beats as she drowned in Damon's aquamarine eyes. It couldn't possibly be true could it? She had feelings for him, yes. But she wasn't falling in love… was she? She walked over to him tentatively, Jeremy finally letting her leave his protective embrace, making sure to stay well clear of Tyler's unconscious and bleeding form.

"Are you ok" she whispered softly her breath mingling with his as it condensed in a cloudy vapour due to the plummeting temperatures. His expression registered shock, it seemed that she had an endless capacity to surprise him; he'd been expecting a tirade. To be reminded that _he _was a monster, for her to remember that she wasn't_ supposed_ to want anything to do with him, that she should have already run into the awaiting arms of his brother the minute Katherine had died.

"I'll be fine" he said, shrugging off her concern and looking at Jeremy who was watching their exchange through narrowed eyes. Damon rolled his in response, it was so typical of people in this town. In fact he could practically read what the younger Vampire was thinking. For the most part Jeremy was still convinced that he was _evil_, in fact he was fairly sure that Elena was the only person that even cared enough to notice how well behaved he'd been of late. He let out a disapproving huff before walking over to the car, pulling the lever that popped the trunk using his good hand before giving Jeremy a pointed glare.

"A little help?" he said sarcastically, raising his eyebrows as he looked down at Tyler's body. Jeremy didn't need to be told twice, he stepped forwards, grabbing him under the arms and pulling his body up – still in it's supernatural form as Damon grabbed one of his feet roughly his injured arm still clutched close to his chest as they dragged his limp form into the trunk, shutting it with a firm slam once he was safely enclosed in there. Damon rounded the car, fishing his hand into his pocket to grab the keys before tossing them to Elena. She caught them deftly with one hand, and he quirked his head ever so slightly, impressed by her reflexes as he met her questioning gaze.

"Where are we going?" she asked, already making her way to the drivers side.

"The boarding house" he answered simply, ducking into the car with ease.

Elena took a deep breath before slipping the keys into the ignition, the car grumbling to life before pulling it out of park and into gear, the tyres skidding slightly as she forced it to make a 180 turn sending them right back in the direction that they'd already come. She prayed that he wouldn't wake up in the next 10 minutes and her foot twitched, pushing the speed dial past the 100mph mark as she gunned towards the Salvatore manor.


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you all for your reviews, they honestly mean so much to me and I love reading them! I look forward to getting them so much, so thank you for taking the time to leave feedback when you do :) Oh and thanks to everyone who cleared up the question with Jenna, I remember now haha it slipped my mind I've been too focused on remembering everything relevant to DE and got a little lost with the other characters! Someone asked if there would be a sequel to this... I would consider it once this one has finished. Sorry if there are some typo's still I've tried to proof read it a couple of times but I keep getting distracted :( Anyway: the next update...**

Elena pulled into the gravelled driveway of the Salvatore boarding house not 15 minutes later, the car skidding to a halt as the stones crunched loudly under the tyres. She hadn't even made it out of the door before Stefan's concerned figure loomed from the doorway having heard the haphazard approach of the car a few minutes earlier. He knew something was wrong by the sound of how fast they'd been going and Elena's expression only confirmed his fears. He could smell fresh blood and it caused his senses to tingle with that tell tale rush of excitement.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked frantically, stepping towards her. She shook her head and answered breathlessly as if she'd run a marathon when in reality she'd only driven a car in tense silence as she'd watched the way Damon had clutched at his arm obsessively.

"It's Tyler he – he attacked Damon" she blurted out, her thoughts scattered and in a frenzy.

"Tyler?" he asked sceptically a deep and troubled frown crossing his features as he made his way to where Jeremy and Damon were both opening the boot of the car.

"It seems that we've found ourselves a werewolf" Damon replied dubiously, the smirk he had attempted failing to reach his lips instead forming some sort of grimace as his arm throbbed relentlessly in protest. He was dully aware that it wasn't healing and it was still bleeding profusely. In fact he could see the edges of his vision beginning to blur. Stefan stepped up to the boot peering at the now human and bloodied body of the Lockwood boy, he looked up at the sky noting that the moon was currently concealed by a large and foreboding black cloud. In his peripheral vision he saw the way his brother was struggling to keep his face indifferent, struggling to remain upright as blood dripped unhindered onto the gravel. Each droplets impact like a metronome to Stefan's diligent hearing, it was tantalizing… taunting and he had to force himself to concentrate on anything_ but_ the sound of the precious substance as it hit the ground.

"Your arm…" he said softly, looking up at his brother whose face was several shades paler than it should have been, his lips a distinctly grey-ish colour.

"Is fine" he hissed finishing Stefan's sentence for him, his tone dangerous and low as he once again shrugged off the concern that was being thrown his way. He didn't need it; didn't want it. It didn't _suit_ him, especially not from _him_.

"Take him to the basement, we'll figure this out once the moon cycle changes" he suggested and for once it seemed that everyone wanted to listen to him because Stefan merely nodded, picking Tyler's form up easily before shutting the trunk and carrying him inside of the manor, Jeremy following.

"You need blood" Elena muttered quietly, dashing inside much like she had just one night ago to fetch some blood bags from the refrigerator. He had not been in agony he would have teased her for her stupidity; A human running into the house to get _him_ blood. Did she not realise that he could get it for himself in just a fraction of the time? That had he not gone soft where she was concerned he could have easily taken it from her deliriously inviting neck? He sighed making a move to follow. He'd humour her – besides the idea of her playing nurse certainly was an entertaining one.

He wasted no time in stalking into the house kicking the door shut with his foot on the way in, gingerly removing the tattered leather from his frame, he let it drop to onto the back of the armchair carelessly, it would be of no more use to him - just like the other two he'd gone through in the past month he thought bitterly. The sound of steps muffled by the antique carpet alerted Damon to Elena's presence and he snapped his eyes up to meet hers.

"Here" she said offering him the first of the two blood bags she'd urgently sought out for him, he took it silently, ripping the seal roughly with the skill of many, many years worth of experience. She watched in quiet fascination as he downed the crimson liquid easily in three large gulps, not even pausing for a breath before she remembered that he didn't _need_ to do that. She handed over the second one, shivering slightly when his fingers briefly made contact with hers. The jolt of heat it sent down her spine knocked the breath from her lungs in a soft gasp as she was reminded of just how deceptively _smooth_ those fingers were. She couldn't help the brief images of him from fleeting across her mind, of the night he'd handed her the device; the subtly with which he'd let her know just how much he was trusting her, the way his gentle squeeze had caused her heart to stutter - even back then. He sent her a questioning look, his lashes framing his unusually bright eyes so angelically. She'd never really taken the time to muse about how wrong it was that he should look so good yet be so deadly. Wrong or ironically fitting?

Elena was only vaguely aware as he drained the second bag, tossing it aside onto the couch carelessly for she was instead concentrating on the way his forearm was knitting itself back together before her eyes. It would never cease to amaze her; how quickly their bodies recuperated after being near the brink of death, particularly him, being on a Human diet and all. Before she even knew what she was doing her hands were softly caressing the new skin, marvelling at how flawlessly it blended with the surrounding flesh. If it weren't for the dried blood coating his limbs and hands she would never have guessed. Every single hair follicle was intact, every single delicate vein perfectly aligned and she traced one with the slightest of touches to the bottom of his wrist before she realised_ what_ she was doing. She froze her hand still lingering causing his skin to tingle as the heat permeated his body from the pads of her fingertips, he was aware that neither of them had taken a breath; aware of the way her heart was hammering away in her chest and she slowly raised her eyes to meet his. She was blown away by intensity of his eyes in that moment; she almost felt that she could _hear_ the buzzing electricity in her ears and she wanted _more_. She needed more, as if she were a moth falling prey to a blazing flame; couldn't stop herself even if she'd wanted to.

He stood absolutely un-moving as she slowly inched closer and closer to him, until their bodies were pressed tightly together; watched as her eyes darted towards his lips and then back up towards his gaze, almost as if _she_ were asking silent permission to cross that invisible precipice. To break the metaphorical dam and flood the valley, wrecking everything they_ thought_ they knew in the process. Her pulse was racing and her body trembling slightly; a mix of fear, adrenaline and pure excitement because she knew that if she did this there would be no going back. There would be no more hiding. She'd be hurting Stefan, she'd be giving up on their "complicated whatever" because Damon would never let her go; like a Venus fly trap, she would forever be ensnared in his very being and that thought both terrified and thrilled her. He wondered then, with her body pressed so seductively against his if it were possible to _force_ his heart to beat because he was sure that he had never experienced a thrill quite like it and his body was reacting in ways that it hadn't in _years_. He was experiencing the kind of rush he could only find when tearing into someone's neck; when draining their life and even that, even that wasn't as uniquely delicious as her. He wanted to smirk; he wanted to be the one making the moves. Damon Salvatore was not one to be fooled, or controlled, or pre-empted. He was none of those things yet somehow he was dully aware that he was at her complete mercy. He wouldn't make the first move, _no._ This time, this time it had to be on her. He wanted it to be real; he wanted her to _choose._

And then her lips parted slightly, her eyelids closed of their own accord and her head inclined, she stepped up onto her tip toes, drawing her hand up to rest upon his chest gaining the contact she craved, the leverage she needed to tip her head forwards her lips meeting his with the slightest experimental pressure. His eyes slid shut and he had to hold back the groan of ecstasy from tearing from his throat as her full, warm, _soft_ lips made contact with his. She rested there for a few seconds before drawing them away, immediately enclosing his lower lip within her own; more pressure this time, with a gentle nip and he hadn't been able to stop his hands from reaching out to draw her closer. One palm pressing against the small of her back, the other coming to tangle itself in her silky hair; she gasped softly, her breath mixing with his before she brought her hands to his face angling her mouth so that their tongues could meet. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before, she couldn't stop, she didn't want to. It felt like her whole body was coming to life, there was fire wherever his hands caressed, desire that only built and built and built until she thought she would explode. She felt as if her very soul were being possessed, consumed; as if she were an erupting supernova and the only thing keeping her grounded was him.

And then it was ripped away from her without a seconds notice, his lips were wrenched from hers and she was left grasping at nothing but thin air. She blinked rapidly trying to clear the fog that was surrounding her head before her expression made way for complete and utter confusion. She was left with nothing but the wind that singled his departure settling on her cheeks causing her to shiver – he'd pulled his disappearing act on her and she had no idea why. No idea that was until she head Stefan's voice from the grand archway.

"What happened tonight Elena?" he asked his voice riddled with concern and she tensed slightly, her nerves on over drive and turned to face his rapidly approaching form. He took in her flushed cheeks, dazed expression and slightly swollen lips and he swallowed tightly. He wasn't a fool, he knew that his brother had been here mere seconds ago – the blood bags and her apparent confusion were evidence enough. Her mouth made fish like motions and she smoothed down her dishelved hair self-consciously as she struggled to get her thoughts in working order.

"He just showed up at my house covered in cuts and bruises, we had no idea that he was… we were taking him to Mrs. Lockwood" she tried to explain. There was only so much she could take and what she wanted now, was a nice long hot shower to soothe her thoughts and to sleep – preferably until all of this was over.

"I told Jenna Stefan…" she said shaking her head slightly and he moved towards her intent on providing her with comfort but stopped up short when he remembered that he didn't have that right anymore. He'd given up on them, on their relationship because he'd thought that it would make her safer. In stead he stood awkwardly before her, his hands practically twitching with the need to envelope her within his embrace.

"It was _so_ bad; it was too much, I don't know what I was thinking – she left and I have no idea where she went… Alaric is trying to find her" she mumbled helplessly and he couldn't stop himself then, he reached out and held her shoulder softly, catching her attention.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. She'll come around and in the meantime Alaric will make sure she's safe" he said calmly his eyes searching hers, eventually she nodded slightly, accepting his comfort for what it was. She couldn't help the guilt she felt then, she didn't understand her own heart when it came to the Salvatore brothers; she didn't understand why his gentle disposition and kind sweetness no longer filled her heart with the warmth that it used to. It made her sad and it hurt her because some part of her did want to forget everything that had happened and start again with a fresh slate, but it seemed that the larger part of her wouldn't let her forget. Wouldn't let her go back to him, back into complacency and she wondered then if this always would have happened. If Katherine had only served as a catalyst to their inevitable demise because she got him; she really did she knew the reasoning behind every one of his actions, behind the way he was but she didn't _understand_ him. Not in the way that she understood his brother, and she feared that it was the same for him.

"Where did Damon go?" he asked, unable to hide the concern behind his words.

"To get changed" he answered easily appearing suddenly in a fresh black shirt, unbuttoned with a new pair of dark wash jeans. Elena swallowed thickly her eyes trailing the smooth expanse of his chest before she looked up meeting his knowing smirk. It caused her to blush deeply and she looked away, suddenly interested in the patterns on the carpet.

"I see" Stefan answered tersely, his thick dark brows set in an expression that Damon knew would only serve to bring him misery. He rolled his eyes, stepping down the split-level with grace before coming to face his brooding brother.

"What _now_ Stefan? What do you so desperately want to purge? Go ahead we're all listening" he teased, his expression nonchalant. Stefan clenched his jaw irritation seeping through his body – why did he always have to be such a prick about _everything_. When he said nothing Damon inclined his head, raising a hand to his ear pretending to be struggling to hear in the tense silence. "What, no takers? Ok well how about _I_ tell Elena?" he continued, dropping his hand and turning to face her.

"Tell me what?" she asked, that niggling feeling of doubt beginning to creep into her mind because somehow she _knew_ that she didn't want to hear this.

"I lied to you" he said easily and she said nothing. Standing stock still as she regarded his face that was belying nothing but indifference.

"What?" she asked quietly, tremors already starting to wrack her body because he wasn't _supposed_ to lie to her. Not about things that were important.

"I was there the night St. Stefan pulled his martyr act – I heard the _whole_ thing" he said as easily as if he was simply reciting the daytime weather to her. She shook her head sharply her expression one of confusion, that couldn't be the truth could it? Because then that would mean…

"You _knew_ he was going to Katherine" she suddenly exclaimed, exasperated as that realisation ploughed into her like a train "You knew and you could have stopped him!" she continued her anger building and she dropped her arms moving towards him clenching her fists as she went. "How could you let him do something so dangerous!" she spat out, and just like that his indifferet expression made way for one of anger.

"Because it was the only way to fool Katherine; you don't understand Elena… she knows when someone's lying, she knows when someone's actions are planned. What do you think would have happened if I'd come to you and _Stefan_ with my plan huh? You're stubborn; you would never have agreed to it and you would have gotten us _all_ killed in the process" he hissed and she was taken aback by the amount of ire that he'd put into those words. She hated to admit it, but he had a point… he was right, had she known she _never_ would have let it happen the way it had and maybe… maybe his twisted logic had been the thing that had saved them all. But that didn't make it any more acceptable.

"Well you never even gave me the _chance_ to agree with you" she raged on, she wanted so badly to strike him, to do anything that might expel some of this all consuming fire she was feeling. He scoffed at her.

"Like you'd ever agree with _me; _certainly not where_ St. Stefan _is concerned" he mocked bitterly and she bristled because his mask had slipped just enough to let her see the genuine resentment behind his words, the genuine pain at always being the second choice, for everything. He didn't care if it seemed petty, some things would never change and this was one of them. Her mouth made the motion to speak but to her horror she found that no words would come out, there really wasn't anything to say; nothing she _could_ say to defend herself against that. He clenched his jaw, his expression changing from anger and bitterness to something else, something that looked like he was resigning; withdrawing from the fight.

"I won't apologize for saving your life Elena; I'm not sorry and you shouldn't expect me to be" he stated candidly, his brows furrowed and his eyes honest and caused a lump to lodge itself within her throat uncomfortably.

She nodded ever so slightly, the fight leaving her veins too "I know" she whispered her expression pained because her head and her heart were screaming two entirely different things at her: This was it, the perfect opportunity to rid herself of him without guilt. To blame him for his manipulation; to go running back into Stefan's arms and in the past… in the past she would have embraced it without a second thought because her heart wouldn't have been protesting otherwise. No. her heart wouldn't have been reminding her that what he'd done had been no different from the night she'd helped Stefan get the grimoire, not really.

When she'd helped him fool Damon the intentions had been the same, borne of the desire to protect the people they cared about only the situation different. In fact she may have even gone as far as to say that this was a lesser offence given the severity of the circumstance because in the grand scheme of things, his lie had been worth it. It had paid off and somehow, _somehow_ she realised that his actions were justified. What kind of a person would _she_ be if she turned her back on him now? A hypocrite for sure; after all hadn't he been the one to forgive her so easily for plotting against him? Hadn't _he_ placed his blind trust in her with no evidence to suggest that she'd keep it? Him of all people, who _never_ let anyone in; no, she couldn't do that to him; she refused to be the wrecking-ball that would demolish all of the progress that he'd – that _they'd_ made.

"I understand why you did it… and I… forgive you" she said, struggling with the words slightly because she was all too aware of Stefan's heartbroken expression; of the shock that her words had elicited from the both of them.

"But that doesn't mean that I'm not angry with you; I need time" she continued her eyes blazing again with a palpable sadness as she took in the brief flicker of pain that crossed his features; sure that she'd just managed to chip away at something within him. It made her shake to know that she harboured that kind of power over him, over his emotions…

"And Damon; don't _ever_ lie to me like that again" she stated her tone more of a threat than a request.

He blinked and looked away from her then, at anything _but_ the anger seeping off, of her in waves because everything was hitting a little _too_ hard for his liking, his lips were still tingling from her touch. His body still humming with life and he swallowed tightly his forehead twitching forming frown lines as he worked to keep the surging sense of turmoil from reaching his expression before he looked at her again. He slowly inclined his head in a silent nod that spoke volumes between them before he turned abruptly, leaving the room; the house. He had to get away before he _drowned_.

Elena sagged; sending him away hadn't felt as satisfying as it should have. It didn't ease the unbearable weight that lay heavy in her heart. In fact it merely added to it. She turned to Stefan weakly, her eyes asking a thousand questions at once: _Where do we go from here? Can things ever go back to the way they were? Do I even want to go back?_

"You care for him" Stefan spoke heavily, almost as if he were thinking aloud. Elena had to fight the urge to groan, she couldn't deal with this too. She couldn't deal with jealousy or acquisition, even though she deserved it.

"Damon is my _friend_ Stefan" she answered tersely, stepping towards him slightly.

"I know… I just never expected it to end up like this" he uttered truthfully his tone helpless. She softened then, her expression morphing into one of sympathy because it was true; somehow things had spiralled so out of control so fast that everything had been plunged into disarray and they'd both changed. Grown apart.

"I wish I could fix us Stefan… I really do, but I _can't_. I don't know what to do. I don't want to hurt you" she whispered honestly, moving closer still as she took in his tortured expression.

"I know Elena… and I know my brother, I know that there's something between you; I know that it… _means_ something to you. I know you don't want to lose that" he said sadly, his tone soft rather than angry because he wasn't, not really. He'd seen this coming; deep down some part of him knew that no matter how hard he fought for her, she'd slip through his fingers. She blanched at his honesty, scared that he'd been so able to accurately assess the situation form the sidelines. When had he becoming so introspective?

"I don't want to be like Katherine" she cried desperately releasing her fears, and he shook his head smiling kindly at her. Imploring her to understand because even though she was hurting him; he _loved _her. He only wanted to see her happy.

"You could never be like her Elena, your heart is too kind. She never cared for consequence; she was selfish. She thought only of herself" he explained calmly hoping that she'd at least listen to him and take the words to heart. Hoping to ease some of the guilt she was feeling. She swallowed looking away slightly before meeting his gaze again, so bittersweet.

"Thank you" she said voice breaking with emotion because in that moment, in that moment he'd set her free.

Stefan had set her _free_.


	18. Chapter 18

**First of all, thank you all so much for all of your amazing reviews! They blew me away again and I loved reading them all. Secondly, I'm REALLY sorry for how long this update has taken, my only excuse is that work had me doing 12 hour shifts and I've just been too tired and distracted to come up with anything worthwhile. Thirdly, I'm going on holiday to Los Angeles this Saturday for a week and a half - I can't promise any updates during this time but I will have access to the internet in the late evenings and I'm planning on taking my laptop with me on the plane, so I might be able to squeeze in an update at some point. I'm back for 2 days before I go camping (and there won't be internet or even electricity for that matter) so there will be no updates for a week during that time. I'm so sorry guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter :) **

Elena couldn't get the feel of his lips from her mind. She couldn't stop replaying those seconds over and over in real time, in slow motion, backwards, forwards; _every_ possible way and it was driving her to the brink of insanity, slowly, torturously. He was there every time she closed her eyes. When she looked in the mirror, when she dressed in the morning, when she robotically went about her day. From the moment she awoke to the moment she slept; _he was there_. And sometimes, sometimes he was there in her dreams too, his delicious sent lingering about her senses, so close yet just out of reach. She thought of it so frequently she was sure that it was now permanently ingrained in her memory. She couldn't escape him and it had only been ten days. Ten long and lonely days in which she'd existed with no knowledge of his whereabouts. Apparently he'd taken her request for space a bit _too_ literally and dropped of the face of the planet, _again_.

Elena sighed and flopped back onto the soft throws of the bed dramatically, her body bouncing slightly on the plush mattress before she came to a stop, starring at the high ceiling with abandon. She didn't know why she was here really. Here in his room in the middle of the day. Tyler was still recuperating downstairs, free of his prison yet still thoroughly exhausted from the effects of his curse, it seemed that Jeremy and he had reached a somewhat tentative and begrudging acceptance for each other. It warmed her heart to know that throughout all of this destruction some things had been built; relationships, _trus_t. She clasped her hands together resting them easily on her stomach as she allowed her eyes to wonder taking in the various aspects of his personal space that she'd become very accustomed to over the past week.

The oak dresser adorned with a few random objects which she had studied in great detail, the bookcase laden with worn and exotic looking books each spine lettered with gold penmanship on their canvas covers, his desk much like Stefan's only minus the journals and writing equipment. Indeed she'd looked at it all. Looked but_ never_ touched – and the idea of trespassing in his bedroom filled her with an easy sense of excitement. After all she was just returning the favour wasn't she? He'd never respected her need for privacy when he'd gone digging through her draws pulling out bras; why shouldn't she reciprocate the gesture? Stefan never said anything about her daily disappearances to his brothers room but that didn't mean that he hadn't noticed the way she would easily spend hours up there; lying on the bed thinking or pacing it's generous expanse with curiosity and longing. Longing because although she wouldn't admit it, she missed him. She missed them both and she'd never felt more alone.

"You know, I don't remember inviting you in Elena" a voice drawled from the doorway and she shrieked startling so violently that she practically fell from the bed.

Damon's expression remained laced with mirth, his eyes dancing dangerously as he observed the way her cheeks flushed bright red, her pulse dancing wildly beneath her skin. She was breathless, her nerves shot to hell as she stood from the bed shakily placing a hand over her heart willing it to slow down.

"You scared me" she uttered her throat a little too tight for her liking.

"What were you doing?" he asked crossing his arms and leaning against the wooden door frame as he regarded her nervous movements, tracking her with eyes like a hawk.

She averted her gaze nervously, what had she been doing? Why had she been so drawn to the large wooden door when she'd walked past it on the way to the bathroom all those days ago? Why had she made a habit of letting herself into his room? _Because you wanted to be close to him Elena _ a little voice in the back of her head reminded her.

"I… don't really know" she answered quietly, somehow finding the courage to meet his eyes. He looked different from the last time she'd seen him and it made her stomach clench unpleasantly. Whatever he'd been doing she knew that she probably never wanted to find out, she knew how Damon dealt with _feelings, _with pain… he'd certainly had his fair share of it lately; they all had. He raised one eyebrow at her sceptically his eyes spanning the room quickly checking that everything had been left in its rightful place.

"Are you… ok?" she asked somewhat uncomfortably and he frowned deeply effectively communicating how unexpected and confusing he found this turn of events. He pushed himself away from the doorway with ease, stalking towards her slowly as he smirked.

"Peachy keen" he drawled and she sighed fighting the urge to groan in frustration. What had she expected from him in all honesty? This was _Damon. _She let his indifference wash over her, ignoring it for what she knew it was; a barrier, his default, his comfort. She nodded slightly dropping her eyes to the floor for a while before speaking again.

"For what it's worth… I'm sorry" she uttered, so quiet and unsure that even he had to strain to hear her. When he said nothing she looked up worried that he was ignoring her but instead met his perplexed gaze.

"For sending you away. I thought – I thought it would help but it didn't. It only made things worse" she confessed recalling how empty her days had felt with his absence. His eyes dilated slightly before he got himself under control again coaxing his lips into a conniving and suggestive little grin.

"Such a fickle little thing" he commented wryly shaking his head and stepping around her to fall onto his welcoming sheets much in the manner she had, tucking his hands easily behind his head as he looked up at her back; arrogant and cold as ever. One minute she wanted him, the next she wanted him gone; two could play this game.

Elena felt a surge of panic engulf her because he was behaving exactly the way he had done towards her after founder's day. She whipped around to face him again her eyes glistening with moisture that she was desperately trying not to let fall.

"Please don't do this again Damon" she whispered quickly her voice wavering weakly filling the space between them with her sadness. He regarded her, his jaw clenched and expression unwavering belaying the internal battle that was currently ensuing.

She was _by far_ the most dangerous thing he'd ever crossed paths with in his undead life; he likened it to a black hole, she had the power to absolutely _destroy_ him. Not his body but his _soul_. All it had taken was one kiss to fill his head with ridiculous notions of _love_. To fully grasp that slither of humanity within him and drag it kicking and screaming to the surface after all these years and that knowledge scared him. Hindsight was a beautiful thing he recognised. In the beginning he'd fought tooth and nail just to be within range of her, fascinated and driven by the desire to cause his brother immeasurable pain by possessing her; like a trophy but she'd taken something from him too; so gradually that he hadn't even noticed until it was too late, until he was _too_ close and now he was being helplessly sucked in by her very existence, powerless to escape. But he'd never expected _her_ to pursue him. Never expected her to appoint herself as his "saviour", he internally scoffed at the notion.

He'd tried to erase her; known before he'd even picked up the first stiff glass of bourbon, at the first bar he'd found in the next state over and attempted to drink her into oblivion that he'd fail. That he should have left well enough alone before she started feeling it too. Before she became attached, he'd forgotten what it was like to be young. Young and ridiculously fascinated with the concept of love, of soul mates of silly clichés like _"til' death do we part"_. He scoffed at that too, because that's exactly where he'd been when Katherine had waltzed into his life, taking everything from him and leaving him with nothing but emptiness and an eternity of regret.

Countless hours spent starring into the bottom of a glass had taught him one thing at least; you couldn't lose it if it was never yours to begin with and there in lay his current dilemma. He could push her away now, send her willingly back into the arms of his brother, could cause her a little heartache but not too much to get over and he could disappear. He could find a new town, a new country. He could begin again like he had done after Katherine. He could flip that switch and send a proverbial fuck you to the world and live with reckless abandon for another 150 years in blissful nothingness and he would almost be able to forget that he'd ever wanted _more_. Almost, but not quite.

"I'm not Stefan Elena" he spoke carefully his keen eyes piercing hers. She recoiled slightly in shock before shaking her head in earnest.

"I don't want you to be" she said frowning deeply, stepping closer until her knees hit the mahogany end of the bed. Is that what was bothering him? Did he honestly think that she wanted to change him, to morph him into something he clearly was not? She sighed dropping the subject for now because she knew they wouldn't be getting anywhere fast and instead sat tentatively at the foot of his bed. His leather boots just inches from her thigh.

"Tyler's better now… Mrs. Lockwood thinks he's staying with a friend for a while" she explained quietly, her eyes tracing the dirt on the bottom of his shoes curiously, wherever he'd been it had obviously been muddy, the black leather was more scuffed and ragged than it had been the last time she'd seen him.

"How wonderful" he responded sarcastically earning a glare from her and he rolled his eyes with exasperation. "And I suppose you want to help him, make him part of the regular s_upernatural gang_" he continued.

"He has nowhere else to go" she chided, trying her hardest not to let his nonchalance get the better of her.

"Hmm. Not my problem" he responded easily his lips turning into a cruel smile at her, she let out a noise of frustration.

"Stefan already said that he could stay here" she pressed on ignoring the absolute death glare he was sending her.

"Stefan _would_ say that but let me tell _you_ something; _I_ own this house. It isn't _Stefan's_ to give" he said, raising his eyebrows as he delivered the words with cutting clarity.

"Please Damon? Just until he gets back on his feet. Until we can come up with a good cover story" she implored, her eyes wide and doe like, hammering away at him with her innocence. He rolled his eyes sitting up easily and swinging his legs over the side of the bed preparing to get up.

"Whatever; just make sure he stays out of this room… and _you_ for that matter" he said, moving towards his closet as she tracked his movements with her eyes. The ice in his tone making her shiver involuntarily and it was then that the niggling feelings of doubt began to seep into her heart. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something was _seriously_ wrong with him; more than what was going on between them at the moment, more than the events of the past few months… something new. Something that had changed him again, made him cold. Detached. Aloof.

"Did something happen to you while you were gone?" she asked tentatively not missing the way his back tensed slightly as he flicked through the various shirts, his hand pausing for just a fraction of a second before it continued it's ministrations.

"Nope" he said, making sure to pop the "p" obnoxiously, his eyes fixed firmly on the fabric of his mainly black, navy or grey shirts, occasionally falling upon crisp white ones. His keen hearing told him that she was no longer sitting, no. Her soft footsteps muffled by the plush carpet told him that she was standing just inches behind him.

"Damon?" she whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder blade with the slightest of pressure, the warmth of her palm seeping through the thin black fabric. He spun around suddenly, grabbing her wrist just a little harder than necessary noting the way her pupils dilated slightly with fear.

"I'm only going to say this once Elena; _back off"_ he spat his eyes darkening visibly as their noses brushed ever so slightly. She shrank back slightly, her breath hitching in her throat startled by his display of strength – it was funny how she'd come to forget how powerful he was. How dangerous he could be towards her when he chose to. She swallowed thickly her body trembling despite her minds protests as she desperately tried to force it into believing the truth – he wouldn't hurt her, he was lashing out because he _wanted_ her to be afraid. He wanted her to give up and leave him be. She raised her chin defiantly.

"Let go of me" she instructed, her voice coming out stronger than she actually felt. He tipped his head to the side slightly a sadistic smile crossing his features before he released her easily, stepping back and turning back to what he'd been previously doing; ignoring the wild beat of her heart. He was fairly sure he'd gotten the point across until he heard her next words.

"I don't know what's going on with you Damon, but I promise you this; you can't scare me away. I'm not going and you can't make me. Not this time" she said confidently, her left hand rubbing at the skin on her wrist idly. He hadn't held it hard enough to bruise – that was something at least.

He paused his movements, his entire being filling with an intense rage. "Get out" he practically growled clenching his fists at his side determined that he wouldn't let her in this time. He was done; Isobel's impromptu visit to him during his road trip had been enough to convince him of what needed to happen. He'd flipped that switch and it had been the best decision he'd made since coming back to Mystic Falls.

"No" she answered simply, bracing herself for whatever onslaught he was about to unleash.

"Damn it Elena!" he roared, punching a hole clean through the left door on the closet that he'd left closed, she jumped and flinched as splinters of wood fell to the floor, his back was to her, but the standing mirror next to the wardrobe was at such an angle that she could see his expression. Eyes bloodshot, veins protruding thickly against his otherwise perfect skin making him look positively demonic. It made something within her twist uncomfortably and she looked away; if he caught her looking at him, _really_ seeing him there'd be hell to pay.

"It's ok" she comforted not really knowing what she was saying let alone what she was doing. She knew how stupid those words were, of course it wasn't; she didn't even know what _it_ was but she felt the need to try and comfort him nonetheless.

"What's going on here?" came Stefan's troubled voice from the doorway, he'd heard the entire conversation of course, tried to ignore the growing rage he could sense within his brother. He didn't want to intrude, he honestly didn't. These past few months had reminded him that he didn't _really_ like seeing his brother in pain, not emotional, not when it was clearly so real and so all consuming. He'd thought long and hard about this over the past few days whilst he'd been gone and had come to a conclusion. He'd silently resolved to try and put their differences behind them for the most part now that the chapter of Katherine was well and truly closed. He was tired of fighting, he was tired of feeling so guilt ridden for losing the one relationship that had always, _always_ been his constant, no matter how dysfunctional. He _loved_ his brother, and it was time to start showing it… sometimes. It was time to try and repair some of the damage that had been done between them, time to start trying to heal himself and those around him, they'd wasted 150 years like this; it was time to move on.

"Damon?" he asked, concern clearly evident in his voice as he stepped into the room coming to stand next to Elena. Damon laughed humourlessly, this was exactly what he didn't need. Didn't want. He shouldn't have come back.

"Brother" He mocked pulling the article of clothing he'd been looking for before slamming the other door closed and turning to face them both his face one again indifferent betraying none of the loss of control that he was feeling.

"What's going on?" Stefan tried again face ever troubled and broody.

"Apparently no one in this house knows how to take a hint" he bit out tersely regarding them with detached eyes before shrugging the jacket on roughly, pulling the lapels to straighten it up before continuing. "Don't wait up for me" he said mercilessly a devilish and entirely forced grin crossing his lips as his eyes bored into Elena's glistening ones. The rush of air was the only thing that alerted her to his sudden movement before she felt his presence by her side, so close yet so far.

"And don't try and follow me" he practically whispered his tone low and dangerous causing her to stiffen and goosebumps to erupt all over her skin as his breath hit her earlobe and neck before another shift in air signalled his departure. She let out the shuddering breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding and a solitary tear slid down her cheek. The silence was thick as her mind worked as fast as possible to come up with any form of explanation for his behaviour.

"Something's happened Stefan" she mumbled desperately, her voice cracking with despair because she just couldn't shake the _horrible_ feeling from her gut. The one that was telling her that whatever it was had been truly devastating for him to do this to her, after everything they'd been through. She refused to believe that he'd simply chosen to revert because he was bored, or because he was truly evil. No, something _must_ have happened. She was sure of it.

"What would make him act this way?" she continued looking up at his tense expression, he shook his head slowly, tucking some hair behind her ear in a gesture more out of habit than anything. He could only think of one thing, _Katherine._ But she was dead he'd_ watched_ her burn. It couldn't be her… could it? He frowned deeply wracking his mind trying to form coherent thought with the very little information they each had.

"I don't know… but I promise you; we'll find out" he decided, leaning down slowly to look into her eyes, trying to ease some of her fears and if he was being honest with himself – some of his own. The last thing any of them needed was the carnage of Damon after one his destructive spells.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys! Thanks for your amazing reviews last chapter, I was blown away again and some of you had some really good theories on why Damon has reverted. I had such an awesome time in LA it's AMAZING I'd recommend it to anyone, I'm sorry that I couldn't update whilst I was on the trip, our days were so packed with shopping, sight seeing and drinking that I wouldn't have been able to come up with anything of value anyway. I have 10 hours before I'm leaving to go camping for the week so I desperately wanted to give you something to read, it's not my best chapter or work but it's necessary set up for the coming chapters, regardless I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for being so patient. **

Elena spent the majority of the following week digging around with very little accuracy or direction. She did small things, like checking the dial on his beloved convertible whilst he was out hunting to find that he'd driven over six hundred miles since the last time she'd looked at the numbers. Like rummaging through his wallet when he'd left it on a table carelessly only to find that _no_ – he didn't keep his receipts. Like checking the news in surrounding towns searching for any suspicious looking "animal attacks" which might indicate _where_ he'd been. He was too careful for that and she knew it but she still tried, she need to feel like she was doing something. She'd wracked her brain to try and come up with possible explanations for his behaviour and thus far her efforts had only proven fruitless. She was growing increasingly frustrated with every day that passed.

Damon wasn't blind either, he'd noticed the way she scrutinized his every move silently from the shadows; he knew every time she snuck into the boarding house whilst she _thought_ he was out to see if he'd left anything behind that might help her "investigation". He noticed that she was more observant than ever and he was actually mildly impressed with her initiative, she really had no idea how close she had come to at least discovering that he'd been in North Carolina. He'd been careful; hadn't left any bodies for the police to find but Isobel _hadn't_ and he knew that it was only a matter of time before Elena extended her search to the surrounding states and stumbled upon the missing persons lists; only a matter of time before she made the necessary connections.

In fact it was that evening whilst Elena was sitting cross-legged on the covers of her bed, macbook propped up on a pillow that her eyes skimmed across an article about a missing hiker being found in the Great Smoky Mountains "_Suspected Animal Attack – Missing Hiker is found dead on Dry Creek Road after two week search…_" and her heart had leapt suddenly. Her eyes widened and she leaned forwards taking in the article rapidly with an increasing sense of triumph, this had to be it. This was where he'd been! She pulled up Google maps quickly fingers shaking with anticipation before typing Mystic Falls, Virginia and Dry Creek Road, North Carolina into "get directions" letting out a noise of accomplishment when she read "270 miles". It fit perfectly and she grabbed for her phone hurriedly sending a text message to Stefan informing him of what she'd discovered. Joyous that at last they had a lead.

"You know Elena, if you wanted to know what was wrong with him you should have just called me" a teasing voice admonished from the window and she slammed the lid of her laptop down with force, startled once again as she snapped her head to the window. Isobel stood there with a wicked grin spread across her beautiful face and Elena swallowed uncomfortably trying desperately to keep still and calm. She should have known better than to think she'd _really_ left town this time.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she stated definitely to which Isobel laughed heartily shaking her head.

"Of course you don't – I have the answers Elena, they're yours if you really want them" she said leaning closer to the window. Elena raised slowly from the bed her nerves tingling and her throat tight, a million questions running through her mind at once.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you want to help me? Why did you help us kill Katherine? I don't understand, you said there was nothing redeemable about you but here you are trying to help me. What do you want!" she exclaimed all of the pent up frustration she'd been experiencing pouring out of her in waves. Isobel merely smiled slightly, the gesture never meeting her eyes and she carried on regardless, completely ignoring Elena's curiosity.

"Why don't you invite me in and we can catch up, eighteen years is a _long_ time" she said sweetly, tilting her head to the side as she allowed her eyes to roam over her daughters form. She was so beautiful; in her _own_ right, separate from how Katherine had been and had Isobel been human she was sure that an immense sense of pride would have engulfed her in that moment. She wasn't though, and she didn't _have_ humanity and that was why her chest remained cold and dead. _Empty_, devoid of any form of emotion; nothing but darkness and hate. Elena only took a moment to consider before crossing her arms and answering tersely.

"No"

"Oh come now; don't you think if I wanted to hurt you you'd be dead already?" she teased lightly, mirth glimmering in her nearly ebony black eyes.

"You kidnapped Jeremy" she countered.

"That was… unfortunate, but not without purpose" Isobel answered flippantly and Elena was reminded vividly of Katherine in that moment. Her mannerisms, her phrasing… it was all the same.

"I don't care I will not let you into this house. Not now, not ever" Elena replied vehemently, standing her ground. Isobel laughed softly with amusement.

"I see they have you trained well. I must say I'm surprised that neither Salvatore brother is here. Did you finally learn your lesson?" she asked, her tone obtaining a definite edge as she brought them both up and Elena was reminded of her previous warning. _"As long as you have a Salvatore on each arm you're doomed…" _and to her dismay she found that there was nothing that she could say in response to that. The words were stuck in her throat; she would never give this _monster_ the satisfaction of knowing _anything_ about her life. She left her and no amount of "help" could rectify that. Isobel rolled her eyes as the silence ensued.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. If you're not going to invite me in then I suppose I have no business in being here" she replied formally, closing off and straightening about to leap down from her perch. That was until Elena's mouth got the better of her.

"Wait!" she blurted out, sounding far more desperate than she had intended and she cringed when Isobel turned back towards her a knowing and arrogant look on her face. "You said you know what's wrong with Damon…" she started cautiously.

"I did?" Isobel replied innocently, feigning ignorance much to Elena's dismay.

"Please… Just tell me what happened to him" she whispered, her eyes wide and vulnerable, something that sickened Isobel because she didn't want this. She'd never wanted Elena to be sucked into the vortex of vampirism, to be sucked in by Damon's charms and she had to clamp down on the urge to throttle her daughter for her own stupidity, it would get her killed or worse… _turned_.

"Katherine" she stated simply her voice detached, all of the playfulness drained from her expression. Elena shook her head in confusion.

"But I don't understand how! She's dead we saw it…" before she trailed off, utter fear consuming her as she realised that she'd never even considered that he might have shut off his humanity _because_ Katherine was dead. Because he still _loved_ her. She felt as if she'd just been sucker punched in the gut, as if a bucket of ice water had just been plunged over her. "He was fine… he was ok until I sent him away" she mumbled to no one in particular, racking her memories to see if she'd missed the signs of withdrawal. She focused on Isobel once again.

"Why was he in North Carolina? What's there?" she questioned desperately. Isobel shook her head.

"Nothing" she answered honestly which only served to frustrate her further.

"Then why would he go there? To the middle of nowhere!"

"Because you told him to?" Isobel countered playing on the guilt she could sense.

"No I didn't!" she practically screamed, stepping closer to the window. Isobel only laughed shaking her head.

"It's not the _place_ that's important. It's what he learned there" she said cryptically thoroughly enjoying toying with Elena, watching her emotions flitter so clearly and unhindered across her face; the anger, confusion and then slowly realization.

"You!" she whispered, it now dawning on her that the only way Isobel could even know anything was if she was there too. "What did you do to him!" she spat harshly, her body beginning to shake with rage accusation dripping from every pore of her body. She almost wished that she _had_ invited her in, so that she could strike her, stake her… do anything to wipe that hideous look of satisfaction from her evil face.

"I gave him the answers he's been searching for" she replied easily, flippantly as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and she sent one last parting look at her daughter before disappearing into the sun's dying rays leaving Elena standing frozen and shocked at the window.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to do anything that might help to alleviate the stress that was being placed upon her fragile shoulders and more than anything she wanted to cry but instead she took a long and calming breath shutting her eyes before mechanically turning back towards her bed. _"The answers he's been searching for" _Elena repeated in her mind whilst she paced, hands clasped together tightly as she willed her brain to start making connections, to start trying to make sense of Isobel's words. What did Damon want to know? What did it have to do with Katherine? How would Isobel know the answers? As far as Elena was aware Katherine never kept a confidante, she was a lone ranger. She kept companions to do her bidding and to entertain her but not a single soul truly _understood_ her motives, no one was privy to that information… were they?

She let out a noise of frustration and flopped down on the bed before making up her mind. She dialled Stefan's number and it took only a few seconds for him to answer.

"Is he home?" she asked immediately, her tone leaving no room for pleasantries and she heard Stefan sigh slightly before he answered.

"No"

"I'm coming over" she stated before ending the call, her legs already carrying her swiftly down the stairs and out of the front door. Another time she would have paused to tell Jenna where she was going but as it was things were still tense, Jenna was barely speaking to her – after she'd finally accepted that Vampire's were indeed real her shock had made way for a deep anger. A resentment that Elena hadn't felt the need to confide in her, to ask for help when she so clearly had needed it; anger that Elena _hadn't_ removed herself from the situation and sent the Salvatore brothers far away before their family had been ripped apart even further, before Jeremy had taken things into his own hands and turned himself.

The minute Elena's car had pulled up into the driveway Stefan had opened the front door; his expression showing his concern for her apparent rampage as she slammed her car shut making her way quickly to greet him.

"I saw Isobel, she said she gave him _answers_; the ones he's been searching for" she said her eyes locking with his green orbs desperately pleading with him to explain to her what that meant exactly. She couldn't take it any longer; being shut out, being in the dark. Not understanding a single thing that was going on around her, feeling so alone and isolated from _everyone_.

Stefan shook his head in confusion reeling from the news; Isobel had been to see her? When? Why? Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask Elena cut him off her tone desperate.

"Please Stefan, I'll answer your questions later but right now you need to help me figure this out! She said it was about Katherine; answers to what!" she continued exasperated and impatient and apparently she'd said the magic words because she saw the proverbial light bulb go off in Stefan's mind, his eyes widening measurably before he turned swiftly making a beeline for the Den, more specifically the fireplace.

"Stefan!" Elena called after him, almost running to keep up with his purposeful strides as she followed his movements watching utterly perplexed as he knelt before the ashes of wood apparently scrutinizing their contents. She came to rest beside him, mimicking his crouching stance in silence as she watched his eyes scanning the blackened embers before he reached out a hand to pick something out. She was about to ask him what the hell had gotten into him before she realised that whatever he was holding had a different texture to the surrounding ash, it was lighter, thinner and upon further examination she could see what appeared to be perfectly curved penmanship. It took no longer than a second to understand what he was holding and the revelation floored her crushing her heart into her chest forcefully. Katherine's Journal. Isobel had given Damon Katherine's _Journal. _

"Oh god" she whispered involuntarily, she could only imagine the horrors that had been hidden within the worn pages of her diary. The complete and un-altered truth, the answers to every question that had been left un-answered. She swallowed thickly as the turmoil washed across Stefan's features, his brows furrowed and his eyes lost as he held the only last remaining evidence of Katherine's existence. Why hadn't Damon told him! He wanted answers too, how could he have just burned it without even consulting him, without even giving him the _choice_ to read it. Stefan flung the charred paper back into the pit of the fire carelessly, his limbs shaking with a vengeance he hadn't felt in a _long_ time and stood abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked hurriedly mimicking his actions the panic rising within her because the only other time she'd seen Stefan look this… _angry_ and out of control was when he'd fallen off the bandwagon and caved to his natural instincts. If he heard her, he made no indication of that fact. He simply strode past her purposefully heading for the door of the Salvatore boarding house Elena hot on his heels voicing her disgruntlement at being left behind, _again_.

"Stefan!" she demanded, not even bothering to shut the door behind her as she followed his frantic movements as best she could, tripping slightly on the bottom of the steps leading up to the house, her feet crunching loudly as they made contact with the gravelled driveway. "Wait!" she cried to no avail only seconds before he blurred away from her sight.

She bawled her fists in her hair and let out a scream of sheer frustration only vaguely aware that in this moment she looked thoroughly insane. If she were a passer by she would have called someone to have her committed but no, _this_ was her life now; an endless rollercoaster of raging emotions. She only took 10 seconds to compose herself enough to drive before thrusting herself into her car, gunning out of the driveway so fast that her tyres span and churned up the gravel with the intention of finding them. She HAD to, this had to end now and she was fairly sure that Stefan had taken off with the same intentions and that scared her because knowing the Salvatore's that meant one of them wouldn't be there to see the new dawn. She couldn't lose them, not now, not after everything it would be too much to bear.


	20. Chapter 20

**Ok, here it is. Long overdue. Warning for this chapter, there is graphic violence. Thank you once again for your continued interest in this story and your amazing feedback! It's been a hell of a ride, there is only one more chapter after this - an epilogue. I can't believe how far this has come and how much people enjoyed it and I'm so sad that it's going to be over soon, I just feel like this is the right place to finish, there's no point in dragging out a story when there isn't much left to tell, any lose ends are tied up in the epilogue. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter :) **

Stefan ran with an energy and purpose he'd scarcely felt in his afterlife, his feet propelling him past the boundaries of the speed he should have been able to achieve given his diet towards his brother's current location. He hadn't been entirely honest with Elena when he'd explained that he didn't know where Damon had been disappearing to; he didn't _know_ but he had a fairly good idea because he knew that he'd do the same and he _knew_ his brother. Their old estate, they're old _home_. The one that was as wrecked and forgotten as their human lives.

There were some things that Damon just couldn't fix with blood and a random bar – he knew because he'd tried and it just wasn't enough. That was why he'd been spending so much time since his return sat perfectly still on the damp grass facing the grubby ruins of the once grand mansion, his eyes tracing years of history, Katherine's words burning brightly in his mind.

He likened it to a broken record, stuck on repeat and skipping on certain sentences, certain words; the ones that had hurt the most, cut the deepest. The ones that tugged at every single ounce of resentment that he still retained from his humanity, every single one of his insecurities that he'd long since buried deep within him. Words like _"I don't love him. I pity him for he believes that I do. He believes that I want him for an eternity, how laughable such a prospect is, I was merely bored and the Salvatore brothers provided some much needed entertainment"_.

Words like _"I do so love the way they fight over me, how they both vouch for my affections, perhaps turning each of them would be prudent? Damon will do whatever I ask of him, I have no qualms about his loyalty, Stefan however is more reserved and he retains the morals and respectable upbringing of his Father, he never fights with Giuseppe. He is his prized and most celebrated offspring. I suppose in that respect Stefan would provide the greater accessory, I would be the envy of many women with him as my suitor". _

He'd seen it all, his insides feeling as if they'd been ripped forcibly through his flesh as he'd read of her deception; read the way she mocked him, both of them. Read the way she objectified them like pawns on a chessboard, as she detailed her decision to leave them to fend for themselves; she'd decided that their hatred for each other would grow too tiresome for her, that she shouldn't _need_ to choose because if they were truly loyal to her they would do _anything_ for her. Including sharing her.

Dying for her hadn't been enough? He fucking hated her, _loathed_ her. Words were not adequate enough to express the level of disdain and sickness and _pain_ he felt when he thought about her now. If he'd thought it had been bad before; when he'd found out that she was never in that god-forsaken tomb to begin with then this was like a fucking apocalypse. Of course he'd known that she couldn't have loved them, either of them. Deep down on some level he'd realised that, but to read the way she wrote about them in such a dethatched and clinical manner? Even he hadn't contemplated that they had been nothing _but_ a game. That her actions had well and truly be devoid of any slither of attraction or emotion, that she'd been waiting for the opportunity to wreak havoc in more exotic ways and when she'd come to the Salvatore estate she'd seen the perfect opportunity. Everything he'd thought he'd known for his entire un-dead life had been utter fabrication, a complete and sickening _lie_. Her words mocked him constantly, they wouldn't stop and switching off his humanity for once wasn't helping. It was still there, he might not be able to _feel_ the emotion now, but his memory wouldn't let him forget what it _had_ felt like to be heartbroken. What it had felt like to discover a lie and it was making him sick.

"Why didn't you tell me!" Stefan demanded barrelling into the clearing and pulling his brother roughly to his feet, shaking him for good measure. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Took you long enough" he quipped shrugging out of Stefan's grip violently and stepping back a few paces.

"You had no right!" Stefan raged completely ignoring his brother's comment.

"Oh believe me, you didn't miss anything good" Damon spoke, his eyes flashing dangerously as he watched Stefan's enraged features battling to remain human.

"It was still my choice, how could you take that from me? After everything we've been through!"

"That's exactly _why_ I did what I did!" Damon snapped back, letting just a hint of the turmoil he was feeling seep into his tone, into his eyes and what Stefan saw caused him to falter slightly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his brows furrowing deeply with fists clenched tightly at his sides ready to strike at any moment.

"After everything…" Damon paused, his stance relaxing slightly as if he were accepting his fate before he continued, speaking more honestly to his brother than he ever had "_Trust me_; after everything it was better that you didn't know".

Stefan scoffed bitterly, shaking his head at the irony of the situation.

"You seriously expect me to believe that you burnt it out of some misguided attempt to protect me from the truth?" he asked incredulously, the anger and hatred still burning in his tone. "How stupid do you think I am?" he spat. "You're selfish, you don't care about other people!" he berated his anger growing and growing with each passing second.

Damon shrugged, "Believe what you will; it won't make a difference either way" he said indifferently, sparring one last look before turning his back and walking slowly towards the dense threshold of trees, knowing before it happened that Stefan wouldn't just let him walk away from him this time. He heard his angry roar before he felt him barrel into his back sending them both crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

"You had no right!" he repeated, grabbing him violently by his shoulders in order to force his brother to face him before throwing a punch at his face, his hearing picking up on the way his nose snapped violently. 150 years of pent up anger surged through Stefan's veins as he threw devastating punch after punch his brother's way completely disregarding the amount of damage that he was doing. Completely un-aware that he wasn't even bothering to fight back, that he was allowing him to lay blow after blow upon him. He just didn't care, all he wanted to do was make him hurt, he wanted to make him suffer for all of the things he'd done to him, to innocent people. For the way he'd managed to capture Elena's heart so slowly but surely. For the fact that they'd both managed to let their hate stand in the way of their bond by blood, for the fact that they just couldn't get past their issues enough to express how much they still _loved_ each other, somewhere… deep down inside.

"Fight back!" he screamed pulling Damon up by the lapels of his jacket before slamming him back into the ground, trying to enrage him enough to do something, to do anything. To just respond, Damon threw him off easily sending him staggering backwards before he stood again, spitting blood from his mouth to the floor carelessly before answering,

"No" defiantly. His eyes challenging Stefan to keep going, to keep beating him; he wanted it, craved the physical pain. It was messed up but at least it made him feel something other than the endless emptiness that he just couldn't escape. It let him feel something other than knowing he was _worthless_, knowing that he'd never mattered at all, even in the slightest.

Stefan stood, his brow furrowing in utter confusion unable to understand what to do next.

"Come on; hit me" Damon encouraged, taunting him as they circled each other. "I lied to you. I've taken everything you've ever loved, you hate me. Why don't you just finish it?" he continued enraged, his tone low and dangerous as he watched his brother's eyes filling with darkness as he fought to remain in control of every one of his instincts that was screaming at him to listen to him. To just end the torment once and for all, to go against his morals and be done with it; to be free of his misery.

Damon laughed at him harshly, his words cold and mocking, "You can't do it because you're too much of a _coward_. You always were" he spat and that had been enough to ignite the burning rage within him again. Stefan charged at him with such a force that they were thrown backwards into the tree line, their bodies impacting a tree trunk with enough strength to uproot it slightly, the earthy crack reverberating loudly through the woodland.

"Shut up!" Stefan screamed, clawing at his brother again, throwing him carelessly around; kicking at his body whilst it was on the ground, listening to every one of his ribs crack until there were none left to break. He froze when he heard his brother's wheezing chest, his lungs gurgling with blood as he laughed at him; he fought harder. He wanted to permanently wipe that arrogant and self-satisfied smirk from his face for good and that was how they'd ended up in their current position.

Damon pinned beneath Stefan, his body broken and bloodied just like his soul a tree branch held inches away from his chest by Stefan's shaking hand, eyes locked in a silent battle of wills. Damon silently egging him on to just _do it._ To end it, to be rid of him because there was nothing left for him here. He was tired of fighting and they were both too proud to ever put their differences aside. He'd known this day would come – in fact he'd promised it. Promised that one day _he'd_ be the one to kill his brother, funny how plans never turned out the way they were laid.

"_Do it" _Damon spat, his voice gurgling and blood spilling from his mouth as he saw Stefan's expression waver, as he saw the internal dilemma of conscience vs nature raging war upon him. Almost like the angel and devil on either shoulder as his brother stared down at him with wide and unsure eyes. His hand twitched dangerously before he drew his right arm up high and plunged the wood with bone crushing force downwards and felt it plunge recklessly down into it's target.

Stefan's body slumped, the rage finally leaving his veins as he rolled off, of his brother's body lying gracelessly by his side panting with adrenaline as he stared up at the sky. His mind blank save for the image of Damon's startled expression that he was sure he'd never be able to shake from his mind... He couldn't do it. He'd plunged the branch into the ground just an inch from his brother's skull in defeat. _He couldn't do it._

Damon lay completely still, his head lolling to the side where the branch now protruded from the ground as he stared at it in disbelief. He'd been so sure that he'd managed to push him just enough to forget his conscience and let his nature take over but _no_. He'd been spared his life yet again. He didn't know how to feel or what to make of his brother's actions... Neither of them did as they lay next to each other starring up at the sky on the ground of their old estate in the closest state of peace they'd managed to achieve in years. The calm after the storm, all of their emotions laid bare before them. It reminded Damon of the time months ago when they'd let their guards down just enough to engage in a game of football - they'd ended up this way too then, laying sprawled across the ground side by side taking a moment to just pause and let the world turn without them. Without conflict. Without hate.

They lay there for what felt like hours, long enough for Damon's body to heal as much as it could, long enough for their frantic breathing to even into a calm lull, long enough for the stars to shine brightly and the moon to drift across the sky serenely before Stefan rose slowly, brushing the dirt from his trousers before extending one hand in his brother's direction. Damon regarded it in silence scrutinizing the meaning behind it; taking the time to really consider the truce that his brother was offering him this time before he took his brother's hand gruffly in silence, allowing Stefan to haul his still badly battered body up from the ground. They both immediately let go once Damon was upright but the significance of what had transpired earlier escaped neither of them as they made their way back towards the boarding house – _together_, in a tentative acceptance of ways for the first time in 150 years.

Elena had given up searching hours ago. She'd driven to the quarry, to Wickery Bridge, to the cemetery, she'd even searched the surrounding woodland and the school grounds in a last ditch attempt to find them both. She'd called Bonnie and begged her to run a tracing spell on one of them but had been met with nothing but resistance. It had resulted in her throwing her Blackberry with force at the nearest wall in anger and defeat. She was absolutely _sick_ with worry as she paced the expanse of the boarding house her mind running over countless scenarios of what they could be doing to each other. If Damon was dead… If Stefan was dead. It had been too much and she'd finally cracked, a few breathy sobs escaping her lips in despair as she sat on the wooden steps of the split level waiting for one of them to return, starring at the front door with conviction, determined that she would _not_ rest until she knew the outcome.

By the time it had hit 3am it had occurred to her that maybe neither of them would return… maybe they'd both kill each other or the guilt would be too much to bear that the remaining brother would take of his ring and surrender themselves to the sunlight. In fact it had been this thought that filled her with a renewed vigour and she'd risen determined to _find_ them before she heard the handle of the front door turn and she froze in the middle of the hallway. Halting her emblazoned movements.

Her heart was still and she held her breath as she waited for her eyes to make contact with one of them. It was the boots that gave him away first and then the clothing which she remembered he'd been wearing as barrelled out of the house in search of Damon and it wasn't until that moment that she was sure of her feelings. It wasn't until her stomach had dropped and her insides turned to ice that she'd realised that she was no longer _in_ _love_ with Stefan. It wasn't until that moment that she'd even realised that her heart had been willing Damon to walk through that door because whilst she didn't wish Stefan dead and she was relieved that he was here; _unharmed_, the feeling of absolute devastation and loss that was engulfing her was too powerful to even compare. Her lips quivered treacherously and her eyes filled with hot and unrelenting tears as Stefan stepped fully into the threshold his eyes immediately meeting her glossy ones as she stood completely still watching him like a hawk.

"Elena" he whispered, stepping towards her and she _wished_ that she could smile for him, wished that she could express that she _was _happy that he was ok but she just _couldn't_. Her body began to tremble as she tried to suppress the sobs that wanted so desperately to escape her tight throat but it was of no use. Her cries met Stefan's ears washing over him in waves of fresh pain and she lowered her head in shame. She couldn't bear to see the utter heartbreak that she was sure would be etched across his features. It wasn't fair to him, she _knew that_. All he he'd ever done was try to love her. To make her happy and for a time he had, he _really_ had but they weren't _right_ together. He'd been the one to teach her how to smile again after her parents death, he was her first love. He nurtured her and let her grow, let her find her footing at a time when everything had been so grey and wrong and for that, for that she would always love him; always be thankful to him but it wasn't _enough_.

It felt like the world was crashing down around her, so much so that she didn't even notice when a second person entered the house, she didn't even hear the door shut softly and it wasn't until she saw a second pair of feet standing before her through watery vision that she snapped her head up. Her sobs caught in her throat as she blinked rapidly to clear her eyes and then she finally saw _him; _standing completely still before her, his intense and captivating eyes boring into hers and in those few seconds it was as if time ceased to exist. All she could see or think was that he was _alive_. She glanced at Stefan quickly and then back to Damon guilt raging down on her shoulders before Stefan gave her a sad smile; an almost imperceptible nod and that was all the confirmation she had needed before she flung her arms around Damon, squeezing him tightly and closing her eyes against the relieved tears that were spilling down her damp cheeks. She'd made her choice and there was no going back. Not now, not _ever_.


	21. Chapter 21

**So here it is, the end. I'm really sad to see this story go I'll miss writing it so much :( I just want to thank each and every one of you for reading, adding it to your favourites and alerts and for reviewing, I love reading them so much and they honestly mean so much to me - so thank you. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint any of you! **

They weren't a conventional couple by any sense of the term, they weren't ordinary or extraordinary, they just _were_. They didn't bother themselves with jovial terms like boyfriend or girlfriend. They were just Damon and Elena, Elena and Damon and it _worked_.

They never said the words, those three little words, that "_I love you_" speech. They never said it but that didn't make it any less true. Instead Damon did things; little things like making sure she never woke up alone even though he rarely slept. Like smoothing her hair down and holding her tightly in the middle of the night when her dreams got the best of her, teasing her and making jokes until she gave him a watery smile and her heartbeat finally rested. Like leaving bags of vervain-laced cookies in her school locker everyday until she'd graduated. Things Like actually making an effort to be _nice_ to Jenna and Jeremy… sometimes. Like taking her out of town spontaneously so that she could let her hair down and go wild, always sitting with her in the bathroom of whatever hotel they'd chosen as she puked her guts out thanks to the alcohol. He always told her that she'd never looked more beautiful as he handed her a cloth – she always laughed and told him he was a horrible liar.

And in return Elena _never_ asked him to change, didn't want him to. She _loved_ him, unconditionally, trusted him explicitly. Trusted him not to lie to her, not to sugar coat things, to treat her like an equal, to call her out when she was in the wrong, when she was being a bitch, to tell her when she needed to just shut the fuck up and _go for it_. He let her be _herself. _Completely. All the time. With him she was _free_.

If she wanted to sit and bitch about the mundane routines of her life then he'd sit and listen to her; just enough to let her vent, enough to make her feel like she'd gotten it off her chest before he shut her up with a kiss… a kiss that almost always led to mind blowing sex and if she wanted to lay in bed and cuddle afterwards? He let her.

If she wanted to go another round - they did.

If she was feeling restless and wanted to go out and just do _something _- he'd take her. Anytime, any place. _Always_.

They fought and it was just like every other aspect of their relationship; passionate and wild. Uncontainable. He'd get so mad that he'd have to leave, blow of steam by draining a few necks but _never_ enough to kill – not anymore and she never begged him to stay. _Never_ because she knew that he'd come back. He _always_ came back. If she was in the wrong then she'd say "_sorry_" and he'd forgive her, open his arms and let her cry it out on his shoulder before taking her to bed. They'd work out any remaining differences beneath the sheets in the throws of angry sex until they couldn't anymore and if he was in the wrong? Well, he never _said_ sorry but he _showed _her that he was; through his eyes, through gentle caresses and chaste kisses once she'd cooled off. With the occasional rose left on-top of her make up bag, or on-top of her school books.

She'd sigh the anger already melting away and smile, smelling it before putting it away in the draw she'd reserved specially for him. Away with the other shrivelled petals that she just couldn't bring herself to throw out and her eyes would always fall to the _first_ one. The rose he'd given her so casually at that dinner party and by then her heart wouldn't stop pounding violently until she saw him again, until she _told_ him that he was forgiven. Until she eased that niggling fear that she _knew_ he hid internally, the fear that one-day she'd be taken away from him. That one day he'd do something that she _couldn't_ forgive him for. That he'd screw up so badly that she _wouldn't_ come back because he _always_ screwed up eventually. He always ruined things; broke them. That was his nature.

There were things that Damon would never say out loud, things that he'd never express outwardly even though he probably should. Important things like the fact that Elena made him _feel_. That when she'd flung her arms around him and refused to let go he'd never felt more wanted in his entire life and he would never be more thankful to _anyone _because of it. That she'd inadvertently saved him from himself, that her simple kindness and empathy had been all it had taken to allow him to find himself again – slowly.

He never discussed it, never let on that sometimes in the middle of the night whilst he was laying awake with her snuggled into his side, listening to the steady beat of her heart and the rise and fall of her chest that he was scared. _Really_ scared of losing her and it always came after _that_ dream. The one recurring memory where he'd see her laying half dead in his arms again, where he'd hear her final shallow raspy breaths echoing loudly from the depths of his mind. She was so ingrained into his very _being_ that he didn't know where he ended and she began. She was home to him. She was _it_. And he'd often become disgusted with himself for thinking such _ridiculous_ things until she mumbled something in her sleep, or squeezed him a little tighter and that warm tingling feeling would wash over him again reminding him _why_ he felt the way he did. Reminding him why 150 years of cruelty had finally met its match. Reminding him why he allowed her to see the _real_ him, the human version of himself, the one that just wanted to be loved, just _once_. The one that wasn't so sure of himself, the one that had been damaged beyond repair.

He'd tried to tell her once – tried to express with words just how _much_ she meant to him; called out her name sometime before dawn and she'd opened her eye's un-focused and bleary taking a few moments to gain perspective of the situation. He'd heard the way her heart skipped a beat as she took in his expression, his blue eyes completely un-guarded and serious and she'd swallowed tightly before whispering, "What's wrong?" into the darkness. He'd been hit with such an overwhelming and un-expected sense of pure _affection_ that he couldn't answer, couldn't find the words to say even when she'd pressed him for a response a worried "Damon?" falling from her perfect lips. It had taken a few moments as she sat up further; brushing her fingers through his unruly hair in an attempt to chase away whatever demon was haunting him now before he managed to speak. Managed to let go of his pride just enough to tell her, to let hew know. To stop hiding and give her those words that he _knew_ she wanted to hear, even though she'd _never_ say so out loud, never ask it of him. She didn't want anything more than he _could_ give – she'd take what she got because what she already had was remarkable enough.

"You're _everything_ to me Elena" he'd confessed quietly and her hands had frozen, her heart had stopped and clenched so tightly that she thought she might suffocate from the overbearing sense of adoration she felt for him and her eyes welled with moisture because those words, those five words meant more to her than any number of "I love you's" _ever_ could.

There were moments, seemingly insignificant one's where she'd catch him doing things, mundane things… ordinary things like reading a book with his brow furrowed and his lips parted slightly, or cooking something for family night completely engrossed in whatever he was doing that she loved him _so much_ that she literally felt she would burst. That her heart would explode because she cared for him so deeply, loved him so much that it started to _hurt_ and every time she felt like that, she'd walk over to him, wrap her arms around him and hold on tight until the feeling passed. One time she just hadn't been able to hold it inside any longer and she'd whispered it into his chest, said those three little words. It meant more to him than he could say. He never questioned her, never got annoyed when she clung to him. Never felt suffocated by her spontaneous bouts of genuine affection when usually he would run for the hills, she was careful not to do it too much and he knew that. He loved her for it. She _got_ him; she gave him space when he needed it. She gave him the time he needed to learn _how_ to love someone again, time to learn how to be loved – she gave him more time than he thought he deserved, let him make more mistakes than he should. He was the im-prefect one and that's just the way she wanted him to stay.

It had been hard at first for Stefan to come to terms with his heartbreak, with his loss because he truly had loved Elena. Did still love Elena, always _would_ love Elena but gradually once the pain had dulled to a low throb and finally the occasional twinge when he saw the two of them together he'd realised that they were _right_ for each other. They worked in a way that he and Elena _never_ had. They'd been happy, yes truly happy and content and in love but they didn't quite gel _completely. _There had always been _something_ missing and neither one them had realised it until after they'd broken up. Stefan firmly believed in the notion that if it's meant to be it will happen in it's own way – and it had. Just not with him. For a while he hadn't known what to feel, for a while he'd been lost and she had been too. She missed him, she never doubted that, never hid it. Stefan had been good to her and he deserved more than her falling in love with his older brother, so much more but she couldn't give it to him... She would always have time for him, if he needed her; she'd be there. In the platonic sense of the notion she did still love him because he deserved it, and she knew that he would still do anything for her. She knew that he'd loved her deeply enough to let her go and for that Elena would never cut him out of their lives. Damon knew this, and he accepted it… for the most part.

They never discussed the issue of her mortality, Damon lived in the present, he was never one for worrying about the future and he certainly wasn't going to start now – they'd cross that bridge when they came to it, but silently Elena had decided that twenty-three would be a good age to die. She'd eventually come to the conclusion that she still wanted those normal everyday things. Things like college and a 21st birthday - besides Damon had promised he'd take her to Vegas; show her a weekend she'd _never_ forget. How could she argue with that? Bonnie had never been able to accept it, her and Damon's relationship and honestly Elena couldn't bring herself to care. She'd lost so much that she felt it was ok to be selfish just this once, to care only for herself and the people who had stuck by her through _everything_. She didn't have the time nor the energy to try and repair her childhood friendships. Jenna had gradually come around, gradually begun to accept the idea of Vampires and the fact that her niece was dating one; had dated two.

It had taken a few months for her to forgive Jeremy, for her to understand why he'd chosen to turn and eventually the idea of Elena living un-officially at the boarding house with Damon and Stefan hadn't filled her with an immense sense of discomfort. A few months before Elena's 19th birthday Jenna made sure to make it clear that she would _always_ have a place to come home to and that had been enough for Elena to understand that Jenna was giving them her blessing. Elena had taken the remainder of her belongings and placed them permanently beside Damon's. She was happy now; she'd found such a profound sense of peace. A belonging that she'd never even realised had been missing with Stefan and in the grand scheme of things, that's all she wanted from life - to have her place. To have piece of mind. To be happy and finally… _finally_ it seemed that she was on the _right_ path, with the _right_ brother. She wasn't deluded, she harboured none of the overly romantic notions of marriage and a white picket fence – it didn't even matter to her. It honestly _didn't_. She and Damon were a team, one and the same, twin flames, however you want to describe it. As long as she could hold onto that, as long as she fought for it, for _him,_ then she'd be happy. She'd be whole.


End file.
